{{Rsnum
|rsid=12696304
|Gene=TERC
|Chromosome=3
|position=169763483
|Orientation=plus
|GMAF=0.4683
|Assembly=GRCh38
|GenomeBuild=38.1
|dbSNPBuild=141
|geno1=(C;C)
|geno2=(C;G)
|geno3=(G;G)
}}{{ population diversity
| geno1=(C;C)
| geno2=(C;G)
| geno3=(G;G)
| CEU | 52.2 | 40.7 | 7.1
| HCB | 8.0 | 45.3 | 46.7
| JPT | 3.5 | 43.4 | 53.1
| YRI | 16.3 | 54.4 | 29.3
| ASW | 21.1 | 49.1 | 29.8
| CHB | 8.0 | 45.3 | 46.7
| CHD | 15.7 | 37.0 | 47.2
| GIH | 41.6 | 46.5 | 11.9
| LWK | 15.5 | 50.9 | 33.6
| MEX | 26.3 | 57.9 | 15.8
| MKK | 25.6 | 54.5 | 19.9
| TSI | 58.8 | 36.3 | 4.9
| HapMapRevision=28
}}

[[rs12696304]] is a SNP near the [[TERC]] gene, which encodes the telomerase RNA component.

A genome-wide association study of mean leukocyte telomere length in 2,917 individuals, with follow-up replication in 9,492 individuals, found that each [[rs12696304]](G) allele was significantly (p = 3.72 × 10?14) associated with a ~75-base-pair reduction in mean telomere length, equivalent to ~3.6 years of age-related telomere-length attrition.{{doi|10.1038/ng.532}}

In other words, in terms of biological aging, this report implies that individuals carrying one [[rs12696304]](G) allele will appear 3.6 years "older", and those with two such alleles 7.2 years "older", than [[rs12696304]](C;C) individuals, at least in terms of telomere length. Telomere shortening can lead to premature [[aging]], in terms of increased risk for age-associated diseases such as heart disease, and at least some forms of cancer, and therefore also reduced [[longevity]].

Note that all individuals in this study were of European descent, so it is unknown if this finding will hold across different ethnicities. Furthermore, the authors estimate that their finding leaves 99% of the variation in aging to be explained by other factors.

see also: [http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/02February/Pages/telomere-aging-genetics-discovered.aspx NHS News Bulletin]

{{PMID Auto GWAS
|PMID=20139977
|Trait=Telomere length
|Title=Common variants near TERC are associated with mean telomere length
|RiskAllele=G
|Pval=4E-14
|OR=0.11
|ORtxt=[0.08-0.14] unit decrease
|OA=1
}}

{{omim
|id=609113
|rsnum=12696304
}}

{{PMID Auto GWAS
|PMID=21573004
|Trait=None
|Title=Genome-wide association study of relative telomere length.
|RiskAllele=G
|Pval=2E-14
|OR=0.0300
|ORtxt=[0.02-0.04] unit decrease
|OA=1
}}

{{PMID Auto
|PMID=20885959
|Title=A Common Variant in the Telomerase RNA Component Is Associated with Short Telomere Length
|OA=1
}}

{{PMID Auto
|PMID=20421499
|Title=Genome-wide association identifies OBFC1 as a locus involved in human leukocyte telomere biology.
|OA=1
}}

{{PMID Auto
|PMID=21304559
|Title=Common variants near TERC are associated with leukocyte telomere length in the Chinese Han population.
|OA=1
}}

{{PMID Auto
|PMID=22136229
|Title=Genetic variation in TERT and TERC and human leukocyte telomere length and longevity: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis.
|OA=1
}}

{{PMID Auto
|PMID=22390679
|Title=A common variant near TERC and telomere length are associated with susceptibility to childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Chinese.
}}

{{PMID Auto
|PMID=22539396
|Title=hTERT cancer risk genotypes are associated with telomere length.
}}

{{PMID Auto
|PMID=24349443
|Title=Association of TERC and OBFC1 Haplotypes with Mean Leukocyte Telomere Length and Risk for Coronary Heart Disease
|OA=1
}}

{{on chip | Affy GenomeWide 6}}
{{on chip | HumanOmni1Quad}}