International Journal of Epidemiology 2003;32:607-614
© International Epidemiological Association 2003
Cardiovascular Disease |
Family study of the relationship between height and cardiovascular risk factors in the STANISLAS cohort
1 INSERM U525, Paris, France.
2 INSERM U525, Nancy, France.
Correspondence: Laurence Tiret, INSERM U525, Faculté de Médecine, 91 Bd de l’Hôpital, 75634 Paris Cedex 13, France. E-mail: laurence.tiret{at}chups.jussieu.fr
Background Short stature is a risk factor for coronary heart disease and is associated with an adverse cardiovascular profile. Mechanisms responsible for this association remain unknown. A genetic contribution to this association would imply a familial clustering between height and cardiovascular risk factors.
Methods This study investigated whether lipids and blood pressure (BP) levels shared a common familial component with height. The sample included 865 nuclear families from the French STANISLAS cohort volunteering for a free health examination between 1993 and 1994. Within-individual correlations and familial intra-trait and cross-trait correlations were estimated using the Estimating Equation technique extended to a bivariate phenotype.
Results Height negatively correlated to total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides in both parents and offspring, and positively correlated to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in parents only. In offspring, the correlation between height and HDL-C markedly increased with sexual maturation to reach after puberty the same value as in parents. The correlation of height with systolic BP was negative in fathers and positive in sons, whereas it was non-significant in mothers and daughters. The pattern of cross-trait familial correlations between height and LDL-C was compatible with the existence of a weak transmissible component explaining the relationship between these two traits. By contrast, the pattern observed for HDL-C and triglycerides was rather compatible with the influence of shared environmental factors. No familial clustering between height and BP levels was detected.
Conclusions The association between short stature and increased LDL-C might be partly of familial origin.
Keywords Family, height, lipids, blood pressure, correlation
Accepted 3 February 2003
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