Genome-wide analysis of social behaviour across social domains, reporters and developmental stages: a meta-regression approach

@article{hoyos2026genomewide,
  title = {{Genome-wide analysis of social behaviour across social domains, reporters and developmental stages: a meta-regression approach}},
  author = {Lucía de Hoyos and Fenja Schlag and Sanjeevan Jahagirdar and Elizabeth C Corfield and Andrea G Allegrini and Danielle Admiraal and Eveline L de Zeeuw and Ilja M Nolte and Natalia Llonga and Alexander Neumann and Katherine Lange and Simone van den Bedem and Ebba Du Rietz and Ehsan Motazedi and Else Eising and Nicole y T Ng and Teemu Palviainen and Carol A Wang and Elisabeth Thiering and Sofia Scatolin and Priyanka Choudhary and Natalia Vilor-Tejedor and Zhijie Liao and Silvia Alemany and Casper-Emil T Pedersen and Nora Fernandez-Jimenez and Megan L Campbell and Polina Girchenko and Eli Barthome and L Caitlin Martin and Hanna Seelemeyer and Afsheen Kumar and Alexandre Jeanne and Tarunveer S Ahluwalia and Melissa H Black and Jan K Buitelaar and Simon E Fisher and Anni Heiskala and María Hernández-Lorca and Vincent W Jaddoe and Marjo-Riitta Järvelin and Sheri-Michelle Koopowitz and Marilyn T Lake and Paul Lichtenstein and Sabrina Llop and Mannan Luo and Anni Malmberg and Sergi Marí and Albertine J Oldehinkel and Zdenka Pausova and Craig E Pennell and Robert Plomin and Ted Reichborn-Kjennerud and Sheena Reilly and Alina Rodriguez and Thomas Rolland and Angelica Ronald and Katri Räikkönen and Jean Shin and María Soler Artigas},
  journal = {Nature Human Behaviour},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1038/s41562-026-02551-z},
  url = {https://pasteur.hal.science/pasteur-05757054v1},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Genome-wide analysis of social behaviour across social domains, reporters and developmental stages: a meta-regression approach
AU  - Lucía de Hoyos
AU  - Fenja Schlag
AU  - Sanjeevan Jahagirdar
AU  - Elizabeth C Corfield
AU  - Andrea G Allegrini
AU  - Danielle Admiraal
AU  - Eveline L de Zeeuw
AU  - Ilja M Nolte
AU  - Natalia Llonga
AU  - Alexander Neumann
AU  - Katherine Lange
AU  - Simone van den Bedem
AU  - Ebba Du Rietz
AU  - Ehsan Motazedi
AU  - Else Eising
AU  - Nicole y T Ng
AU  - Teemu Palviainen
AU  - Carol A Wang
AU  - Elisabeth Thiering
AU  - Sofia Scatolin
AU  - Priyanka Choudhary
AU  - Natalia Vilor-Tejedor
AU  - Zhijie Liao
AU  - Silvia Alemany
AU  - Casper-Emil T Pedersen
AU  - Nora Fernandez-Jimenez
AU  - Megan L Campbell
AU  - Polina Girchenko
AU  - Eli Barthome
AU  - L Caitlin Martin
AU  - Hanna Seelemeyer
AU  - Afsheen Kumar
AU  - Alexandre Jeanne
AU  - Tarunveer S Ahluwalia
AU  - Melissa H Black
AU  - Jan K Buitelaar
AU  - Simon E Fisher
AU  - Anni Heiskala
AU  - María Hernández-Lorca
AU  - Vincent W Jaddoe
AU  - Marjo-Riitta Järvelin
AU  - Sheri-Michelle Koopowitz
AU  - Marilyn T Lake
AU  - Paul Lichtenstein
AU  - Sabrina Llop
AU  - Mannan Luo
AU  - Anni Malmberg
AU  - Sergi Marí
AU  - Albertine J Oldehinkel
AU  - Zdenka Pausova
AU  - Craig E Pennell
AU  - Robert Plomin
AU  - Ted Reichborn-Kjennerud
AU  - Sheena Reilly
AU  - Alina Rodriguez
AU  - Thomas Rolland
AU  - Angelica Ronald
AU  - Katri Räikkönen
AU  - Jean Shin
AU  - María Soler Artigas
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/21
JO  - Nature Human Behaviour
DO  - 10.1038/s41562-026-02551-z
UR  - https://pasteur.hal.science/pasteur-05757054v1
AB  - Social behaviour is a heritable trait linked to well-being and mental health, yet it varies across social context, including social domains, informants and development, which may shape its underlying genomic architecture. Here, we conducted a genome-wide meta-regression meta-analysis of social behaviour from infancy to early adulthood, studying ~500,000 repeated measures in European-ancestry cohorts (N = 73,321). We modelled heterogeneity in single-variant associations across social domains (low prosocial behaviour and peer/social difficulties), multiple informants (parents, teachers and self-reports) and ages (2–29 years), identifying 6 associated loci, including variation within CADM2 (P = 2.51 × 10−9). Single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability ranged from 2% to 7%, and the genetic architecture comprised 4 factors reflecting differences in either social domains or informants. Polygenic scores (N = 16,305) accurately predicted contextual variation in independent cohorts, with some cross-ancestry transferability. Context-specific patterns of genetic correlations, particularly when estimating the developmental onset of associations, offer opportunities to disentangle shared trajectories linking social behaviour with later-life and mental health outcomes.
SN  - 2397-3374
SN  - 2397-3374
ER  -