가난해도 행복한 사람은 ‘행복 유전자’ 덕분 Genes may contribute to making some nations happier than others

“단일염기다형성(SNP) 따라 행복감 달라져”

 한국의 행복지수, OECD 36개 국가 중 24위 

나라별 경제 수준과 복지 수준이 낮아도 유전자에 따라 느끼는 행복감과 고통은 다를 수 있다는 연구결과가 

나왔다 source sciencedaily.com

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    행복지수가 높은 나라의 국민은 같은 기쁨을 더 크게 느끼게 해주고, 고통도 낮게 인식하는 유전자를 더 많이 가지고 있다는 연구결과가 나왔다.

마이클 민코브 불가리아 바르나대 교수팀은 마이클 본드 홍콩과기대 교수팀과 공동으로 경제적 상황이나 복지가 상대적으로 미흡한 일부 나라의 행복지수가 유달리 높은 원인을 유전자에서 찾을 수 있다고 12일 ‘행복연구저널(Journal of Happiness Studies)’에 발표했다.

연구팀은 먼저 각 나라별 국민들의 행복 감수성과 유전자 사이에 상관관계가 있을 것이라는 가설을 세웠다. 2000~2014년 ‘세계 가치 조사(World Values Survey)’에서 ‘자신이 매우 행복하다(very happy)’라고 대답한 설문자의 수를 헤아려 국가별 순위를 재정리했다.

 

그리고 이 순위를 미국 예일대에서 정리한 국가별 유전자 빈도 데이터베이스와 비교해 상관관계를 분석했다. 해마다 일어나는 기후변화와 보건 문제 등은 국민 전체의 행복감에 큰 영향을 미칠 수 있는 만큼 기후 관련 데이터, 감염병 데이터 등을 함께 참고했다.

 

그 결과 연구팀은 단일염기다형성(SNP) 중 하나인 ‘rs324420’ 속 특정 유전자가 행복감을 느끼는 정도를 가르는 결정적인 역할을 한다는사실을 밝혀냈다. 단일염기 다형성이란 대다수의 유전자를 공유하는 사람들이 저마다 다른 모양새와 다른 특징을 갖게 만드는 작은 돌연변이다.

연구에 따르면 멕시코, 나이지리아, 가나 등에 사는 국민들은 상대적으로 행복감이 높으며, 국민들이 ‘행복유전자’ rs324420를 갖고 있는 비율 역시 높은 것으로 나타났다. 반면 행복감이 낮은 국가들인 홍콩과 중국, 대만, 태국의 국민들은 이 유전자를 갖고 있는 비율이 현저하게 낮았다.

연구팀은 “이 SNP를 가진 사람은 행복감에 대한 수용 감각이 더 민감해지고 고통은 더 낮게 받아들인다”며 “아메리카 원주민의 혈통이 이 유전자를 갖고 있는 비율이 높은 것으로 보인다”고 말했다.

동아사이언스 이우상 기자 idol@donga.com

Genes may contribute to making some nations happier than others 

First study to show link between genetic make-up and perceived national happiness

Heidelberg | London, 14 January 2016

The citizens of nations which rate themselves happiest display a specific genetic feature: their DNA is more likely to contain a specific allele involved in sensory pleasure and pain reduction, say Michael Minkov of the Varna University of Management (formerly International University College) in Bulgaria, and Michael Bond of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. They weighed up genetic and various external factors to might contribute to national differences in happiness. The findings are published in Springer’s Journal of Happiness Studies.

Minkov and Bond used data from three waves of the nationally representative World Values Survey (2000 - 2014). They calculated the average national percentages of respondents who unambiguously reported being “very happy”. Their calculations also included population genetic data from an allele frequency database maintained by population geneticist Kenneth K. Kidd of Yale University as well as climatic information about the harshness of summers and winters, the historic prevalence of pathogens and World Bank economic data, since national differences in subjective well-being are thought to depend on socioeconomic and climatic factors in addition to genetic factors. The authors found a strong correlation between a nation’s happiness and the presence of the A allele in the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) gene variant rs324420 in its citizens’ genetic make-up. This allele helps prevent the chemical degradation of anandamide, a substance that enhances sensory pleasure and helps to reduce pain.

Nations with the highest prevalence of the A allele are quite clearly also those who perceive themselves happiest. These include Ghana and Nigeria in West Africa, and northern Latin American nations, such as Mexico and Columbia, whose citizens are of Amerindian or mixed Euro-American descent. The Arab nations of Iraq and Jordan, and the East Asian nations of Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Taiwan, which had the lowest prevalence of this allele, were also found to be the least likely to rate themselves as “very happy”. Genetics also suggests explanations for differences in happiness between European nations. Northern Europeans such as Swedes were found to have a much higher prevalence of the A allele – and more often rate themselves as being very happy - than their cousins from Central or Southern Europe.

The authors recognise that genetics is not the only determinant happiness. They argue that the economic and political difficulties continuously experienced by East European nations contribute to the very low happiness scores of Russians and Estonians. This is despite the fairly high prevalence of the A allele in the genes of these Northeast European nations.

Economic wealth, the type of law governing a nation or disease patterns did not significantly influence national differences in happiness. However, politics and economics did cause fluctuations in happiness levels in certain countries during the time this study was conducted. The authors suggest that, for instance, the percentage of very happy people in Rwanda rose dramatically recently because the effect of the 1994 genocide is wearing off. Inversely, it fell among Egyptians, most likely because of the political and economic turmoil in this North African country.

Climatic differences were also found to be significantly associated with national differences in happiness.

“We cannot fail to notice the high occurrence of the A allele in equatorial and tropical environments in the Americas and Africa and the lower occurrence of that allele around the Mediterranean Sea than in Northern Europe,” says Minkov. “It seems that some equatorial and tropical environments select for a higher occurrence of the A allele as a counterbalance to environmental stressors.”

The results may sound somewhat disturbing for nations that are not endowed with beneficial genes and climatic factors. The researchers reiterate that they studied only national differences in relation to one another and not absolute measures. “In other words, we have not shown that a nation's genetic and climatic heritage doom a particular country to a specific happiness score, but that it can still rise and fall because of situational factors,” explains Bond.

Reference: Minkov, M., Bond, M.H. (2015). A Genetic Component to National Differences in Happiness, Journal of Happiness Studies, DOI 10.1007/s10902-015-9712-y

https://www.springer.com/us/about-springer/media/springer-select/genes-may-contribute-to-making-some-nations-happier-than-others/7117266

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