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Parental Education and Genetics of BMI from Infancy to Old Age: A Pooled Analysis of 29 Twin Cohorts
Author(s) -
Silventoinen Karri,
Jelenkovic Aline,
Latvala Antti,
Yokoyama Yoshie,
Sund Reijo,
Sugawara Masumi,
Tanaka Mami,
Matsumoto Satoko,
Aaltonen Sari,
Piirtola Maarit,
Freitas Duarte L.,
Maia José A.,
Öncel Sevgi Y.,
Aliev Fazil,
Ji Fuling,
Ning Feng,
Pang Zengchang,
Rebato Esther,
Saudino Kimberly J.,
Cutler Tessa L.,
Hopper John L.,
Ullemar Vilhelmina,
Almqvist Catarina,
Magnusson Patrik K. E.,
Cozen Wendy,
Hwang Amie E.,
Mack Thomas M.,
Willemsen Gonneke,
Bartels Meike,
van Beijsterveldt Catharina E. M.,
Nelson Tracy L.,
Whitfield Keith E.,
Sung Joohon,
Kim Jina,
Lee Jooyeon,
Lee Sooji,
Llewellyn Clare H.,
Fisher Abigail,
Medda Emanuela,
Nisticò Lorenza,
Toccaceli Virgilia,
Baker Laura A.,
Tuvblad Catherine,
Corley Robin P.,
Huibregtse Brooke M.,
Derom Catherine A.,
Vlietinck Robert F.,
Loos Ruth J. F.,
KnafoNoam Ariel,
Mankuta David,
Abramson Lior,
Burt S. Alexandra,
Klump Kelly L.,
Silberg Judy L.,
Maes Hermine H.,
Krueger Robert F.,
McGue Matt,
Pahlen Shandell,
Gatz Margaret,
Butler David A.,
Harris Jennifer R.,
Nilsen Thomas S.,
Harden K. Paige,
TuckerDrob Elliot M.,
Franz Carol E.,
Kremen William S.,
Lyons Michael J.,
Lichtenstein Paul,
Jeong HoeUk,
Hur YoonMi,
Boomsma Dorret I.,
Sørensen Thorkild I. A.,
Kaprio Jaakko
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.22451
Subject(s) - demography , socioeconomic status , body mass index , twin study , context (archaeology) , obesity , medicine , offspring , heritability , biology , population , genetics , pregnancy , endocrinology , paleontology , sociology
Objective The objective of this study was to analyze how parental education modifies the genetic and environmental variances of BMI from infancy to old age in three geographic‐cultural regions. Methods A pooled sample of 29 cohorts including 143,499 twin individuals with information on parental education and BMI from age 1 to 79 years (299,201 BMI measures) was analyzed by genetic twin modeling. Results Until 4 years of age, parental education was not consistently associated with BMI. Thereafter, higher parental education level was associated with lower BMI in males and females. Total and additive genetic variances of BMI were smaller in the offspring of highly educated parents than in those whose parents had low education levels. Especially in North American and Australian children, environmental factors shared by co‐twins also contributed to the higher BMI variation in the low education level category. In Europe and East Asia, the associations of parental education with mean BMI and BMI variance were weaker than in North America and Australia. Conclusions Lower parental education level is associated with higher mean BMI and larger genetic variance of BMI after early childhood, especially in the obesogenic macro‐environment. The interplay among genetic predisposition, childhood social environment, and macro‐social context is important for socioeconomic differences in BMI.