A statistical investigation into the sharing of common genetic factors between blood pressure and obesity phenotypes in nuclear families from the Greater Bilbao (Spain).
OBJECTIVE
Several obesity phenotypes (e.g. body mass and fat, fat distribution) have been suggested to be a risk for elevated blood pressure. This study was undertaken to determine the heritability of four blood pressure phenotypes: SBP, DBP, pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) and to assess the strength of genetic and environmental correlations among these phenotypes, and also between blood pressure and the different obesity-related traits.


METHODS
The studied sample consisted of 429 nuclear families living in the Greater Bilbao (Spain) and included 1302 individuals aged 4-61 years. Univariate and bivariate quantitative genetic analyses were performed using a variance components procedure implemented in Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines software.


RESULTS
SBP, DBP, PP and MAP were significantly influenced by genetic factors with heritability estimates of 0.25, 0.28, 0.14 and 0.31, respectively, and presented high genetic and environmental correlations between them (except DBP-PP). On the contrary, whereas SBP, DBP and MAP showed common environmental factors with almost all body mass and fat-related traits, pleiotropic effects were only detected for some pairs, especially for those phenotypes that included skinfolds. In contrast, PP did not exhibit common genetic or environmental factors with obesity phenotypes in the studied population


CONCLUSIONS
Blood pressure and obesity phenotypes do not share, in general, a substantial influence of common genetic and environmental effects. Finally, the results obtained revealed the importance of the amount of adipose tissue in the genetic correlations with SBP, DBP and MAP, at least, during the growth period.
Jelenkovic
Aline
A
Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain. aline.jelenkovic@ehu.es
Poveda
Alaitz
A
Rebato
Esther
E
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001823:Body Composition / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009679:Nuclear Family; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult