The Influence of Gene and Environmental Interactions on Cognitive and Emotional Status in Older Adults

本研究旨在评估基因-环境相互作用对老年人认知功能或情绪状态的影响。对环境条件测量系统的开发和基因分型进行了平行研究。对儿童时期的学业成绩、中年时期的工作经验（复杂性和压力）进行了初步的评价。对6个候选基因进行SNP分型。对中年人工作复杂性与各基因多态性对认知的相互作用进行了一系列分析。虽然结果显示某些基因（如Klotho）存在基因与环境相互作用的可能性，但统计能力太小，无法完全支持这一假设。这些结果表明，在复杂的人类生活背景下，需要更慎重地选择控制变量，如医疗条件，以澄清基因与环境的相互作用。

This study was designed to evaluate the influence of gene-environment interactions on the cognitive function or emotional state in older adults. Parallel studies for the development of measurement systems of environmental condition and gene typing were performed.Original methods to evaluate school achievement in childhood, job experience (complexity and stress) in midlife were developed. SNP typing for 6 candidate genes were also performed. A series of analyses to test the interaction of job complexity in midlife and each gene polymorphism on cognition were performed. Although the results showed a possibility of gene and environmental interaction in some genes (e.g., Klotho), the statistical power was too small to fully support this hypothesis. These results indicate that a more deliberate choice of control variables such as the medical condition is needed to clarify gene-environment interactions in a complex human life context.