Risky behaviour could be in your genes, says new research

Are we born risk-takers or is it something we learn? New research suggests taking chances may just be hardwired into some people’s genes.

Professor Elina Hypponen. Picture: Supplied

Risky behaviour is in the genes, with an international study of more than a million people revealing 124 shared genetic influences among self-confessed high risk-takers.

Director of the Australian Centre for Precision Health at SAHMRI, UniSA Professor Elina Hypponen was part of the research team.

“It’s contributing to our understanding of how we are and to what extent we can or can't really affect that,” she said.

“I think it's interesting to know that some of the ways, or the manner in which we respond to risky situations, is slightly beyond our own control and reflective of how our genetic background has been built up.”

But she hopes risk-takers and rule-breakers won’t use genes as an excuse in court.

“I think those kinds of examples are already there, where people are using their genetics to try to get reduced sentences but I don't believe that that should let us get away from having a responsibility for our actions,” she said.

“It is just that some people need to be more mindful with respect to their tendencies to respond to a stimulus in a certain manner, compared to others.”

Dr Hypponen is a member of the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium, an international research effort investigating the influence of genetics on human behaviour and wellbeing, which recently published on the genetic background underlying obesity.

“It is very clear that some people have a stronger genetic predisposition to being obese or overweight but it doesn't mean that there is no personal responsibility, if responsibility is the right word, or that people couldn't do anything about it,” Dr Hypponen said.

“It just means that for some people it's much harder to maintain a normal body weight than it is for others.”

In the risky behaviour study, lead author Assistant Professor Jonathan Beauchamp from the University of Toronto said evidence of shared genetic influences extends to many specific risky behaviours.

“Genetic variants that are associated with overall risk tolerance … tend to also be associated with more speeding, drinking, tobacco and cannabis consumption, and with riskier investments and sexual behaviour,” he said.

“We also found shared genetic influences on overall risk tolerance and several personality traits and neuropsychiatric traits — including ADHD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.”

The research is published today in the journal Nature Genetics.