CFTR mutations enhance susceptibility for idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) and congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD); however, it is unknown why CFTR heterozygotes are at increased disease risk. We recently showed that common CFTR variants are associated with aberrantly spliced transcripts. Here, we genotyped for common CFTR variants and tested for associations in two ICP (ICP-A: 126 patients, 319 controls; ICP-B: 666 patients, 1,181 controls) and a CBAVD population (305 patients, 319 controls). Haplotype H10 (TG11-T7-470V) conferred protection (ICP-A: OR 0.19, P<0.0001; ICP-B: OR 0.78, P = 0.06; CBAVD OR 0.08, P<0.001), whereas haplotype H3 (TG10-T7-470M) increased disease risk (ICP-A: OR 8.34, P = 0.003; ICP-B: OR 1.88, P = 0.007; CBAVD: OR 5.67, P = 0.01). The risk of heterozygous CFTR mutations carriers for ICP (OR 2.44, P<0.001) and CBAVD (OR 14.73, P<0.001) was fully abrogated by the H10/H10 genotype. Similarly, ICP risk of heterozygous p.Asn34Ser SPINK1 mutation carriers (OR 10.34, P<0.001) was compensated by H10/H10. Thus, common CFTR haplotypes modulate ICP and CBAVD susceptibility alone and in heterozygous CFTR and p.Asn34Ser mutation carriers. Determination of these haplotypes helps to stratify carriers into high- and low-risk subjects, providing helpful information for genetic counseling.

We investigated whether higher internal control beliefs (perceived control, political efficacy) and improved social relationships (lower loneliness, social support availability) mediated the associations between nonpolitical and political volunteering and subjective well-being (SWB; life satisfaction, emotional well-being). Moreover, we examined whether these effects differed between nonpolitical and political volunteering and across age groups. We conducted longitudinal multilevel regression analyses of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985–2016) in younger (14–29, n = 7,547), middle-aged (40–50, n = 6,437), and older (65–75, n = 3,736) adults (see preregistration at https://osf.io/qk6mu). Significant effects on SWB emerged mainly in older adults who reported higher life satisfaction on occasions with more frequent nonpolitical volunteering than usual but lower life satisfaction on occasions with more frequent political volunteering. The negative effect of political volunteering was mediated by higher loneliness. In younger and middle-aged adults, mixed effects of nonpolitical and political volunteering on the mediating variables and no significant effects on SWB emerged. We discuss methodological, contextual, and life-stage explanations of our findings.

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Drawing on public opinion and empirical research, one may advise people to participate in voluntary organizations because voluntary participation can improve their mental health and social well-being. However, do such benefits apply across different types of participation and across the life course? In this study, we investigated whether benefits to mental health and social well-being differ between nonpolitical and political participation and across age groups (preregistration is accessible at https://osf.io/kqcbe). Using 25 waves of data from the British Household Panel Survey and the Understanding Society (1991–2016), we conducted multilevel analyses with observations nested within participants in younger (14–29, n = 10,536), middle-aged (40–50, n = 4,955), and older (65–75, n = 3,059) adults. We used life satisfaction and GHQ-12 scores as measures of mental health, and social support and neighborhood belonging as measures of social well-being. We found only few and small significant effects at the within-person level: On occasions when younger adults reported political participation, they reported slightly higher neighborhood belonging than when they did not. On occasions when older adults reported nonpolitical or political participation, they reported slightly higher life satisfaction than when they did not. However, we found no significant differences between nonpolitical and political participation and among age groups. In sum, our findings qualify the opinion that voluntary participation yields significant benefits to engaged individuals. We discuss potential explanations, including characteristics of political participation in the United Kingdom.