Heritability of carotid artery structure and function: the Strong Heart Family Study.
OBJECTIVE
Alterations in carotid artery structure and function may represent phenotypic measures of vascular disease that contain information beyond that which can be inferred from conventional cardiovascular disease risk assessment. However, apart from their associations with cardiovascular disease risk factors and outcome, the genetic basis of variations in carotid artery structure and function is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the genetic and environmental contributions to carotid artery structure and function in 3 large groups of American Indians.


RESULTS
Approximately 950 men and women, aged > or =18 years, in 32 extended families were examined between 1997 and 1999. By use of a variance component approach and the program Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines, heritabilities for carotid artery structure and function phenotypes were estimated. After accounting for the effects of covariates (sex, age, diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, smoking, cholesterol, body surface area, and hypertension), we detected significant heritabilities (given as h2 values) for common carotid artery diastolic diameter (h2<0.44), intimal-medial wall thickness (h2<0.21), vascular mass (h2<0.27), arterial stiffness (h2<0.23), and the augmentation index (h2<0.18).


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the additive effects of genes explain a moderate proportion of the variability of carotid artery structure and function.
North
Kari E
KE
Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
MacCluer
Jean W
JW
Devereux
Richard B
RB
Howard
Barbara V
BV
Welty
Thomas K
TK
Best
Lyle G
LG
Lee
Elisa T
ET
Fabsitz
Richard R
RR
Roman
Mary J
MJ
D000368:Aged; D001130:Arizona / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000235:genetics; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009658:North Dakota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009825:Oklahoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013023:South Dakota / Q000453:epidemiology