Genetic and environmental influences on left ventricular mass - A family study

The relations between left ventricular mass (LVM) with age, gender, body si ze, and blood pressure were investigated in healthy adults and children fro m 149 nuclear families. LVM was strongly correlated with overall weight, es pecially in the children, Genetic analysis indicated that the segregation o f LVM was compatible with an additive polygenic model, with a heritability estimate of 34% before adjustment for weight and 28% after adjustment for w eight, Genetic and/or familial environmental factors played a strong role i n the correlation of LVM and weight; they accounted for all of the correlat ion between the 2 traits in adults and 59% of the correlation in children. Spouses exhibited a strong correlation in their weight, which suggested tha t common family environment may contribute to the family correlations and:t o the observed heritability of the trait, LVM was strongly correlated with blood pressure before adjustment for weight, but this correlation could be attributed to nonfamilial environment rather than genetic factors, After ad justment for weight, the intertrait correlations between LVM and blood pres sure were nonsignificant. Thus, adjustment for weight accounts for all comm on determinants of LVM and blood pressure.