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The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior-age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)-has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the underlying mechanisms of AFB and NEB are poorly understood. We report a large genome-wide association study of both sexes including 251,151 individuals for AFB and 343,072 individuals for NEB. We identified 12 independent loci that are significantly associated with AFB and/or NEB in a SNP-based genome-wide association study and 4 additional loci associated in a gene-based effort. These loci harbor genes that are likely to have a role, either directly or by affecting non-local gene expression, in human reproduction and infertility, thereby increasing understanding of these complex traits.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/ng.3698

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nature genetics

Publication Date

12/2016

Volume

48

Pages

1462 - 1472

Addresses

Department of Sociology and Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Keywords

BIOS Consortium, LifeLines Cohort Study, Humans, Reproductive Behavior, Birth Order, Maternal Age, Parity, Reproduction, Fertility, Pregnancy, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Quantitative Trait Loci, Female, Genome-Wide Association Study