New York: In one of the largest studies on the genes involved in human behaviour, a team of more than 190 researchers from 140 institutions in 17 countries has found genetic variants associated with our feelings of well-being, depression and neuroticism.
The researchers, however, advise caution when interpreting the results as genetic variants do not determine whether someone develops depressive symptoms, neuroticism or has a poor sense of wellbeing.
“In this paper, we applied advanced statistical analyses and meta-analysed or combined, results across a large number of studies which is the most powerful way to conduct this type of genetics research,” said Dr Alexis Frazier-Wood, assistant professor of pediatrics and nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital.
“We found three genetic variants associated with subjective well-being — how happy a person thinks or feels about his or her life. We also found two genes harbouring variants associated with depressive symptoms and 11 genes where variation was associated with neuroticism,” explained Dr Frazier-Wood.
