Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior
Twin and family studies have shown that same-sex sexual behavior is partly genetically influenced, but previous searches for specific genes involved have been underpowered. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 477,522 individuals, revealing five loci significantly associated with same-sex sexual behavior. In aggregate, all tested genetic variants accounted for 8 to 25% of variation in same-sex sexual behavior, only partially overlapped between males and females, and do not allow meaningful prediction of an individual's sexual behavior. Comparing these GWAS results with those for the proportion of same-sex to total number of sexual partners among nonheterosexuals suggests that there is no single continuum from opposite-sex to same-sex sexual behavior. Overall, our findings provide insights into the genetics underlying same-sex sexual behavior and underscore the complexity of sexuality.
Authors
- Michel Guillaume Nivard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2015-1888)
- Alan R. Sanders (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6629-4011)
- Benjamin M. Neale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1513-6077)
- Shengru Guo
- Abdel Abdellaoui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1088-6784)
- Gary W. Beecham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7061-6332)
- John R. B. Perry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6483-3771)
- Robbee Wedow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3108-7087)
- Robert Maier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3044-090X)
- J. Fah Sathirapongsasuti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8157-3665)
- Kathleen Mullan Harris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9757-1026)
- andMe Research Team
- Paul Lichtenstein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3037-5287)
- Adam Auton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1630-1225)
- Alexander S. Busch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4417-569X)
- Andrea Ganna (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8147-240X)
- Karin J. H. Verweij (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9868-7821)
- Sebastian Lundström (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7235-8499)
- Eden R. Martin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4035-9152)
- Niklas Långström (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2686-6799)
- Brendan P. Zietsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0274-6140)
Institutions
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- UNC Libraries
- Published
- 2025-07-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.17615/gnz1-sw08
- Primary Topic
- Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00