“116 Independent Genetic Variants Influence the Neuroticism Personality Trait in over 329,000 UK Biobank Individuals”, Michelle Luciano, Saskia P. Hagenaars, Gail Davies, W. David Hill, Toni-Kim Clarke, Masoud Shirali, Riccardo E. Marioni, Sarah E. Harris, David C. Liewald, Chloe Fawns-Ritchie, Mark J. Adams, David M. Howard, Cathryn M. Lewis, Catharine R. Gale, Andrew M. McIntosh, Ian J. Deary2017-07-28 (, , ; similar)⁠:

Neuroticism is a stable personality trait; twin studies report heritability 30%–50%, and SNP-based heritability is about 15%. Higher levels of neuroticism are associated with poorer mental and physical health, and the economic burden of neuroticism for societies is high. To date, genome-wide association (GWA) studies of neuroticism have identified up to 11 genetic loci.

Here we report 116 independent genetic loci from a GWA of neuroticism in 329,821 UK Biobank participants, with replication available in a GWA meta-analysis of neuroticism in 122,867 individuals. Genetic signals for neuroticism were enriched in neuronal genesis and differentiation pathways, and substantial genetic correlations were found between neuroticism and depressive symptoms (r = 0.82, SE=0.03), major depressive disorder (r = 0.69, SE=0.07) and subjective wellbeing (r = −0.68, SE=0.03) alongside other mental health traits.

These discoveries advance our understanding of neuroticism and its association with major depressive disorder.