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. 2014 Mar;44(2):91-6.
doi: 10.1007/s10519-014-9644-z. Epub 2014 Feb 20.

Common genetic variants explain the majority of the correlation between height and intelligence: the generation Scotland study

Riccardo E Marioni  1 , G David Batty, Caroline Hayward, Shona M Kerr, Archie Campbell, Lynne J Hocking; Generation Scotland; David J Porteous, Peter M Visscher, Ian J Deary
Affiliations

Common genetic variants explain the majority of the correlation between height and intelligence: the generation Scotland study

Riccardo E Marioni et al. Behav Genet. 2014 Mar.

Abstract

Greater height and higher intelligence test scores are predictors of better health outcomes. Here, we used molecular (single-nucleotide polymorphism) data to estimate the genetic correlation between height and general intelligence (g) in 6,815 unrelated subjects (median age 57, IQR 49-63) from the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study cohort. The phenotypic correlation between height and g was 0.16 (SE 0.01). The genetic correlation between height and g was 0.28 (SE 0.09) with a bivariate heritability estimate of 0.71. Understanding the molecular basis of the correlation between height and intelligence may help explain any shared role in determining health outcomes. This study identified a modest genetic correlation between height and intelligence with the majority of the phenotypic correlation being explained by shared genetic influences.

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