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Heritability and Stability of Resting Blood Pressure in Australian Twins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Jouke-Jan Hottenga ,
John B. Whitfield ,
Eco J. C. de Geus ,
Dorret I. Boomsma  and
Nicholas G. Martin
Jouke-Jan Hottenga*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology and the Center for Neurogenomics and Clinical Research, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. jj.hottenga@psy.vu.nl
John B. Whitfield
Affiliation:
Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia.
Eco J. C. de Geus
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology and the Center for Neurogenomics and Clinical Research, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Dorret I. Boomsma
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology and the Center for Neurogenomics and Clinical Research, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Nicholas G. Martin
Affiliation:
Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia.
*
*Address for correspondence: Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Abstract

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In Australian twins participating in three different studies (1979–1996), the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to variation in resting systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was studied. The sample consisted of 368 monozygotic and 335 dizygotic twin pairs with measurements for both individuals. Blood pressure measurements in two studies were available for 115 complete twin pairs, and 49 twin pairs had measurements in three studies. This allowed assessment of blood pressure tracking over an average period of 12 years in the age range of 23 to 45 years. Multivariate analyses showed significant heritability (h2) of blood pressure in all studies (SBP h2 = 19%–56%, DBP h2 = 37%–52%). In addition, the analyses showed that the blood pressure tracking was explained by the same set of genetic factors. These results replicate an earlier finding in Dutch twins that also showed stability of the contribution of genetic factors to blood pressure tracking.

Type
Articles
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , 01 April 2006 , pp. 205 - 209
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006