A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition

Bjarni Gunnarsson; Guorún A. Jónsdóttir; Gyoa Björnsdóttir; Bettina Konte; Patrick Sulem; Snædís Kristmundsdóttir; Birte Kehr; Ómar Gústafsson; Hannes Helgason; Paul D. Iordache; Sigurgeir Ólafsson; Michael L. Frigge; Guomar Orleifsson; Sunna Arnarsdóttir; Berglind Stefánsdóttir; Ina Giegling; Srdjan Djurovic; Kjetil S. Sundet; Thomas Espeseth; Ingrid Melle; Annette M. Hartmann; Unnur Thorsteinsdottir; Augustine Kong; Daniél F. Guobjartsson; Ulrich Ettinger; Ole A. Andreassen; Dan Rujescu; Jónas G. Halldórsson; Hreinn Stefánsson; Bjarni V. Halldórsson; Kári Stefánsson

doi:10.1038/srep36189

A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition

Bjarni Gunnarsson^*, Guorún A. Jónsdóttir, Gyoa Björnsdóttir, Bettina Konte, Patrick Sulem, Snædís Kristmundsdóttir, Birte Kehr, Ómar Gústafsson, Hannes Helgason, Paul D. Iordache, Sigurgeir Ólafsson, Michael L. Frigge, Guomar Orleifsson, Sunna Arnarsdóttir, Berglind Stefánsdóttir, Ina Giegling, Srdjan Djurovic, Kjetil S. Sundet, Thomas Espeseth, Ingrid MelleAnnette M. Hartmann, Unnur Thorsteinsdottir, Augustine Kong, Daniél F. Guobjartsson, Ulrich Ettinger, Ole A. Andreassen, Dan Rujescu, Jónas G. Halldórsson, Hreinn Stefánsson, Bjarni V. Halldórsson, Kári Stefánsson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Only a few common variants in the sequence of the genome have been shown to impact cognitive traits. Here we demonstrate that polygenic scores of educational attainment predict specific aspects of childhood cognition, as measured with IQ. Recently, three sequence variants were shown to associate with educational attainment, a confluence phenotype of genetic and environmental factors contributing to academic success. We show that one of these variants associating with educational attainment, rs4851266-T, also associates with Verbal IQ in dyslexic children (P = 4.3 × 10^-4, β = 0.16 s.d.). The effect of 0.16 s.d. corresponds to 1.4 IQ points for heterozygotes and 2.8 IQ points for homozygotes. We verified this association in independent samples consisting of adults (P = 8.3 × 10^-5, β = 0.12 s.d., combined P = 2.2 x 10^-7, β = 0.14 s.d.). Childhood cognition is unlikely to be affected by education attained later in life, and the variant explains a greater fraction of the variance in verbal IQ than in educational attainment (0.7% vs 0.12%,. P = 1.0 × 10^-5).

Original language	English
Article number	36189
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36189
Publication status	Published - 4 Nov 2016

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 The Author(s).

Access to Document

10.1038/srep36189

Cite this

Gunnarsson, B., Jónsdóttir, G. A., Björnsdóttir, G., Konte, B., Sulem, P., Kristmundsdóttir, S., Kehr, B., Gústafsson, Ó., Helgason, H., Iordache, P. D., Ólafsson, S., Frigge, M. L., Orleifsson, G., Arnarsdóttir, S., Stefánsdóttir, B., Giegling, I., Djurovic, S., Sundet, K. S., Espeseth, T., ... Stefánsson, K. (2016). A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition. Scientific Reports, 6, Article 36189. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36189

@article{9a9fa0894a2844b4b2fd9512e40129c4,

title = "A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition",

abstract = "Only a few common variants in the sequence of the genome have been shown to impact cognitive traits. Here we demonstrate that polygenic scores of educational attainment predict specific aspects of childhood cognition, as measured with IQ. Recently, three sequence variants were shown to associate with educational attainment, a confluence phenotype of genetic and environmental factors contributing to academic success. We show that one of these variants associating with educational attainment, rs4851266-T, also associates with Verbal IQ in dyslexic children (P = 4.3 × 10-4, β = 0.16 s.d.). The effect of 0.16 s.d. corresponds to 1.4 IQ points for heterozygotes and 2.8 IQ points for homozygotes. We verified this association in independent samples consisting of adults (P = 8.3 × 10-5, β = 0.12 s.d., combined P = 2.2 x 10-7, β = 0.14 s.d.). Childhood cognition is unlikely to be affected by education attained later in life, and the variant explains a greater fraction of the variance in verbal IQ than in educational attainment (0.7% vs 0.12%,. P = 1.0 × 10-5).",

author = "Bjarni Gunnarsson and J{\'o}nsd{\'o}ttir, {Guor{\'u}n A.} and Gyoa Bj{\"o}rnsd{\'o}ttir and Bettina Konte and Patrick Sulem and Sn{\ae}d{\'i}s Kristmundsd{\'o}ttir and Birte Kehr and {\'O}mar G{\'u}stafsson and Hannes Helgason and Iordache, {Paul D.} and Sigurgeir {\'O}lafsson and Frigge, {Michael L.} and Guomar Orleifsson and Sunna Arnarsd{\'o}ttir and Berglind Stef{\'a}nsd{\'o}ttir and Ina Giegling and Srdjan Djurovic and Sundet, {Kjetil S.} and Thomas Espeseth and Ingrid Melle and Hartmann, {Annette M.} and Unnur Thorsteinsdottir and Augustine Kong and Guobjartsson, {Dani{\'e}l F.} and Ulrich Ettinger and Andreassen, {Ole A.} and Dan Rujescu and Halld{\'o}rsson, {J{\'o}nas G.} and Hreinn Stef{\'a}nsson and Halld{\'o}rsson, {Bjarni V.} and K{\'a}ri Stef{\'a}nsson",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 The Author(s).",

year = "2016",

month = nov,

day = "4",

doi = "10.1038/srep36189",

language = "English",

volume = "6",

journal = "Scientific Reports",

issn = "2045-2322",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

}

Gunnarsson, B, Jónsdóttir, GA, Björnsdóttir, G, Konte, B, Sulem, P, Kristmundsdóttir, S, Kehr, B, Gústafsson, Ó, Helgason, H, Iordache, PD, Ólafsson, S, Frigge, ML, Orleifsson, G, Arnarsdóttir, S, Stefánsdóttir, B, Giegling, I, Djurovic, S, Sundet, KS, Espeseth, T, Melle, I, Hartmann, AM, Thorsteinsdottir, U, Kong, A, Guobjartsson, DF, Ettinger, U, Andreassen, OA, Rujescu, D, Halldórsson, JG, Stefánsson, H, Halldórsson, BV & Stefánsson, K 2016, 'A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, 36189. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36189

TY - JOUR

T1 - A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition

AU - Gunnarsson, Bjarni

AU - Jónsdóttir, Guorún A.

AU - Björnsdóttir, Gyoa

AU - Konte, Bettina

AU - Sulem, Patrick

AU - Kristmundsdóttir, Snædís

AU - Kehr, Birte

AU - Gústafsson, Ómar

AU - Helgason, Hannes

AU - Iordache, Paul D.

AU - Ólafsson, Sigurgeir

AU - Frigge, Michael L.

AU - Orleifsson, Guomar

AU - Arnarsdóttir, Sunna

AU - Stefánsdóttir, Berglind

AU - Giegling, Ina

AU - Djurovic, Srdjan

AU - Sundet, Kjetil S.

AU - Espeseth, Thomas

AU - Melle, Ingrid

AU - Hartmann, Annette M.

AU - Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur

AU - Kong, Augustine

AU - Guobjartsson, Daniél F.

AU - Ettinger, Ulrich

AU - Andreassen, Ole A.

AU - Rujescu, Dan

AU - Halldórsson, Jónas G.

AU - Stefánsson, Hreinn

AU - Halldórsson, Bjarni V.

AU - Stefánsson, Kári

PY - 2016/11/4

Y1 - 2016/11/4

N2 - Only a few common variants in the sequence of the genome have been shown to impact cognitive traits. Here we demonstrate that polygenic scores of educational attainment predict specific aspects of childhood cognition, as measured with IQ. Recently, three sequence variants were shown to associate with educational attainment, a confluence phenotype of genetic and environmental factors contributing to academic success. We show that one of these variants associating with educational attainment, rs4851266-T, also associates with Verbal IQ in dyslexic children (P = 4.3 × 10-4, β = 0.16 s.d.). The effect of 0.16 s.d. corresponds to 1.4 IQ points for heterozygotes and 2.8 IQ points for homozygotes. We verified this association in independent samples consisting of adults (P = 8.3 × 10-5, β = 0.12 s.d., combined P = 2.2 x 10-7, β = 0.14 s.d.). Childhood cognition is unlikely to be affected by education attained later in life, and the variant explains a greater fraction of the variance in verbal IQ than in educational attainment (0.7% vs 0.12%,. P = 1.0 × 10-5).

AB - Only a few common variants in the sequence of the genome have been shown to impact cognitive traits. Here we demonstrate that polygenic scores of educational attainment predict specific aspects of childhood cognition, as measured with IQ. Recently, three sequence variants were shown to associate with educational attainment, a confluence phenotype of genetic and environmental factors contributing to academic success. We show that one of these variants associating with educational attainment, rs4851266-T, also associates with Verbal IQ in dyslexic children (P = 4.3 × 10-4, β = 0.16 s.d.). The effect of 0.16 s.d. corresponds to 1.4 IQ points for heterozygotes and 2.8 IQ points for homozygotes. We verified this association in independent samples consisting of adults (P = 8.3 × 10-5, β = 0.12 s.d., combined P = 2.2 x 10-7, β = 0.14 s.d.). Childhood cognition is unlikely to be affected by education attained later in life, and the variant explains a greater fraction of the variance in verbal IQ than in educational attainment (0.7% vs 0.12%,. P = 1.0 × 10-5).

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994669199&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/srep36189

DO - 10.1038/srep36189

M3 - Article

C2 - 27811963

AN - SCOPUS:84994669199

SN - 2045-2322

VL - 6

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

M1 - 36189

ER -

A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this