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Genetic analysis of sex and generation differences in plasma lipid, lipoprotein, and apolipoprotein levels in adolescent twins and their parents
Author(s) -
Boomsma D.I.,
Kempen H.J.M.,
Leuven J.A. Gevers,
Havekes L.,
de Knijff P.,
Frants R.R.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
genetic epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.301
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1098-2272
pISSN - 0741-0395
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2272(1996)13:1<49::aid-gepi5>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - offspring , biology , apolipoprotein b , heritability , genetics , analysis of variance , lipoprotein , apolipoprotein e , phenotype , additive genetic effects , genetic variation , genetic analysis , endocrinology , cholesterol , medicine , gene , pregnancy , disease
In a sample of Dutch families consisting of parents aged 35–65 years and theirtwin offspring aged 14–21 years, a significant difference between generations wasobserved in phenotypic variances and in genetic heritabilities for plasma levels of totalcholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL)cholesterol, and apolipoproteins (apo) A1, A2, B, and E. For all traits parents were morevariable than their offspring. This increase in phenotypic variance was best explained by agenetic model in which individual specific environmental variance increased with increasingage. Genetic variance was the same across generations for nearly all traits except triglyceridesand apoE, for which a decrease in genetic variance was observed. This model led to largeintergenerational differences in genetic heritabilities. Heritabilities for children were between65 and 87%, while heritabilities for their parents were between 10 and 50%. No evidence wasfound for effects of a shared family environment. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.