Satisfaction depends on length of “happiness gene”

A person’s happiness and satisfaction in life depends on the form of a specific gene they have, a research conducted by a behavioral economist of the London School of Economics and Political Science showed. 

The research reported on by the U.K.’s Press Association found out a strong link between the “5-HTT” gene and happiness by analyzing genetic data from more than 2,500 participants. They were asked “how satisfied are you with your life as a whole?” and the answers were compared with each genetic type.
The result revealed that those who inherit two “long” variants of the 5-HTT gene tended to be happiest, with 17 percent more than average being “very satisfied” with life. For those with just one “long” 5-HTT gene, the chance of being “very satisfied” was 8.5 percent higher. People with two “short” genes tended to be least happy.

“It has long been suspected that this gene plays a role in mental health but this is the first study to show that it is instrumental in shaping our individual happiness levels,” said Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve who led the research in the interview with Press Association.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)