Assortative Mating by Ethnicity in Longevous Families.

ABSTRACT: Recent work shows strong evidence of ancestry-based assortative mating in spouse pairs of the older generation of the Framingham Heart Study. Here, we extend this analysis to two studies of human longevity: the Long Life Family Study (LLFS), and the New England Centenarian Study (NECS). In the LLFS, we identified 890 spouse pairs spanning two generations, while in the NECS we used data from 102 spouse pairs including offspring of centenarians. We used principal components of genome-wide genotype data to demonstrate strong evidence of ancestry-based assortative mating in spouse pairs of the older generation and also confirm the decreasing trend of endogamy in more recent generations. These findings in studies of human longevity suggest that spouses marrying into longevous families may not b

SUBMITTER: Sebastiani P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5702482 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature