“Evidence for the Role of Selection for Reproductively Advantageous Alleles in Human Aging”, Erping Long, Jianzhi Zhang2023-04-14 (genetic correlation, longevity)⁠:

The antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis posits that natural selection for pleiotropic mutations that confer earlier or more reproduction but impair the post-reproductive life causes aging. This hypothesis of the evolutionary origin of aging is supported by case studies but lacks unambiguous genomic evidence.

Here we genomically test this hypothesis using the genotypes, reproductive phenotypes, and death registry of 276,406 UK Biobank participants.

We observe a strong, negative genetic correlation between reproductive traits and lifespan. Individuals with higher polygenic scores for reproduction (PGS_R) have lower survivorships to age 76 (SV₇₆), and PGS_R increased over birth cohorts 1940 → 1969. Similar trends are found from individual genetic variants examined. PGS_R and SV₇₆ remain negatively correlated upon the control of the offspring number, revealing horizontal pleiotropy between reproduction and lifespan.

Intriguingly, regardless of PGS_R, having two children maximizes SV₇₆.

These and other findings strongly support the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis of aging in humans. [Is probably mediated through behavioral differences like impulsivity or worse careers or dropping out of school etc, which can explain the U-curve of longevity—they are just engaged in the normative behavior, neither more nor less.]