rs16944

A SNP in the IL1B gene on chromosome 2. Its most notable genotype is A;A: Increased risk (~3x) for osteoarthritis

Gene
IL1B
Location
Chr 2112,837,290 (GRCh38)
Highest magnitude
2.0Worth knowing
Tested on
23andMe, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA
Minor allele frequency
47%

Genotypes

As shown in 23andMe and AncestryDNA files.

  1. A;AMost notableBadIncreased risk (~3x) for osteoarthritisWorth knowing · 2.028% of people
  2. A;GBadMinorly increased risk of mental illness and osteoarthritisMinor · 1.547% of people
  3. G;GBadSlightly increased (~2x or less) risk for certain mental disordersWorth knowing · 2.025% of people

On SNPedia: (A;A), (A;G), (G;G). Magnitude rates how notable a genotype is from 0 to 10, not how risky it is.

Frequency

Share of each genotype in 11 HapMap populations.

  • AverageA;A 28% A;G 47% G;G 25%
  • European ancestry (Utah)A;A 13% A;G 45% G;G 42%
  • Han Chinese (Beijing)A;A 23% A;G 45% G;G 32%
  • Japanese (Tokyo)A;A 23% A;G 44% G;G 33%
  • Yoruba (Nigeria)A;A 40% A;G 42% G;G 18%
  • African ancestry (Southwest US)A;A 35% A;G 46% G;G 19%
  • Chinese (Denver)A;A 28% A;G 48% G;G 25%
  • Gujarati IndianA;A 34% A;G 53% G;G 14%
  • Luhya (Kenya)A;A 42% A;G 46% G;G 12%
  • Mexican ancestry (Los Angeles)A;A 28% A;G 48% G;G 24%
  • Maasai (Kenya)A;A 34% A;G 49% G;G 17%
  • TuscanA;A 13% A;G 49% G;G 38%

Conditions, medicines and genes

Other IL1B SNPs

All IL1B SNPs

Notes

From SNPedia

Show notes, about 150 words

rs16944 is a SNP in the interleukin 1, beta gene, a member of the cytokine family involved in the inflammatory response. The rs16944 G;G genotype is associated with risk for multiple mental illnesses. An increased risk for schizophrenia was found in a genetic association study of 2111 Caucasian individuals with an odds ratio of 1.24 (95% CI 1.09, 1.41) . Studies examining the brains of schizophrenic and bipolar individuals found reduced gray matter and hypoactivity associated with the G;G genotype. Additionally, this genotype is associated with impaired ability to achieve remission in a study of 256 Caucasian individuals with depression (odds ratio = 1.74; 95% confidence interval 1.2-4.3). The rs16944 A allele increases susceptibility to Osteoarthritis, with 1.80 times for heterozygotes (AG) and 2.90 times for homozygotes (AA) Gray matter deficits in bipolar disorder rs16944(T;T)

Source and license

Adapted from rs16944 on SNPedia, using a snapshot taken October 16, 2026. SNPedia content is shared under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US, and this page is shared under the same license.

SNPedia is a community-edited wiki. Its entries can be incomplete, out of date or wrong, and nothing here is a diagnosis or medical advice. Magnitude is a community rating of how interesting a genotype is, not a risk score.