Published July 10, 2021 at 1:38 pm
Domestic. Researchers have found genetic variants that are linked to age at the onset of sex and when to have their first child. The study shows that genetics is involved in controlling reproductive behavior and that it can also be linked to diseases later in life.
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In an international study published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, researchers have identified 371 genetic variants that can be linked to reproductive behavior.
Researchers now hope that their study can increase understanding of involuntary infertility, adolescents' mental and sexual health and possible treatments.
– We searched the entire genome to find links between genetic variants and age at sexual debut and the birth of the first child. This is the largest study to date of this kind and it includes information from hundreds of thousands of individuals, both women and men. Based on the data we obtained, we were able to calculate that the genetic variants were behind 5-6% of the difference in age for sexual debut and childbirth, which is surprisingly much, says Marcel den Hoed, researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at Uppsala University, in a press release.
The study shows that it is a combination of genetics, social factors and the environment that results in an early or late start of reproduction. Researchers previously knew that socioeconomic conditions and level of education could be linked to the time of reproduction, but now they could see that people who were genetically predisposed to delay sexual debut or first childbirth also lived longer and had better health later in life. The discovery that genetic factors behind reproductive behavior are linked to diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease could contribute to better knowledge about diseases later in life.