We obtained evidence from a large study in Dutch twins (N=8387) and siblings (N=2295) that variation in loneliness has a genetic component. The heritability estimate for loneliness, which was assessed as an ordinal trait, was 40% and did not differ between males and females. There were 682 sibling pairs with genotypic (around 400 microsatellite markers) data. We combined phenotypic and genotypic data to carry out a genome scan to localize QTLs for loneliness. One region on chromosome 12q23.3–24.3, showed near suggestive linkage. Genetic association tests within this region revealed significant association (p-value 0.009) with one of the alleles of marker D12S79 and with one of the alleles of neighbouring marker D12S395 (p-value 0.043). We review evidence for linkage in this region for psychiatric disorders and discuss our findings within this context.
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Acknowledgments
Supported by NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) grants 575-25-006, 904-61-090, 985-10-002, 904-61-193 and NWO/SPI 56-464-14192; National Supercomputing Facilities (NCF) and the National Institute of Aging Grant PO1 AG18911 (Social isolation, loneliness, health, and the aging process). Dr. Posthuma is supported in part by GenomEUtwin grant (EU/QLRT-2001-01254). Genotyping was carried out by Profs. Weber (Centre for Medical Genetics in Marshfield) and Slagboom (LUMC). We would like to thank E. Suchiman and N. Lakenberg for DNA isolation and genotyping and Drs. A.L. Beem and J.J. Hottenga for statistical support.
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Boomsma, D.I., Cacioppo, J.T., Slagboom, P.E. et al. Genetic Linkage and Association Analysis for Loneliness in Dutch Twin and Sibling Pairs Points to a Region on Chromosome 12q23–24. Behav Genet 36, 137–146 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-005-9005-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-005-9005-z