The Estonian cohort comes from the population-based biobank of the Estonian Genome Project of University of Tartu (EGPUT). The project is conducted according to the Estonian Gene Research Act and all participants have signed the broad informed consent (www.geenivaramu.ee).52 In total 38 000 individuals aged 18 years or older participated in this cohort (33% male, 67% female). The population distributions of the cohort reflect those of the Estonian population (83% Estonians, 14% Russians, 3% other). Subjects were randomly recruited by the general practitioners (GP) and physicians in the hospitals.53 A Computer Assisted Personal interview (CAPI) was conducted during 1-2 hours at doctors’ offices. Data on demographics, genealogy, educational and occupational history, lifestyle and anthropometric and physiological data were assessed. For the current study, GWA was performed on 600 randomly selected subjects with both Illumina HumanCNV370 genotype (array according to Illumina protocol (www.illumina.com) in Estonian Biocenter Genotyping Core Facility) and the NEO-PI-3 questionnaire data available54. In this sample the age range was 18-87 (mean 45.7 (SD 16) years). The sample consisted of 250 males (mean age 45.5 (SD=16) years) and 350 females (mean age 45.7 (SD=16) years).
