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Genetic and environmental influences on adult human height across birth cohorts from 1886 to 1994

2016; eLife Sciences Publications Ltd; Volume: 5; Linguagem: Inglês

10.7554/elife.20320

2050-084X

Aline Jelenkovic, Yoon-Mi Hur, Reijo Sund, Yoshie Yokoyama, Sisira Siribaddana, Matthew Hotopf, Athula Sumathipala, Frühling Rijsdijk, Qihua Tan, Dongfeng Zhang, Zengchang Pang, Sari Aaltonen, Kauko Heikkilä, Sevgi Yurt Öncel, Fazil Alıev, Esther Rebato, Ádám Domonkos Tárnoki, Dávid László Tárnoki, Kaare Christensen, Axel Skytthe, Kirsten Ohm Kyvik, Judy L. Silberg, Lindon J. Eaves, Hermine H. Maes, Tessa L. Cutler, John L. Hopper, Juan R. Ordoñana, Juan F. Sánchez-Romera, Lucía Colodro‐Conde, Wendy Cozen, Amie E. Hwang, Thomas M. Mack, Joohon Sung, Yun‐Mi Song, Sarah Yang, Kayoung Lee, Carol E. Franz, William S. Kremen, Michael J. Lyons, Andreas Busjahn, Tracy L. Nelson, Keith E. Whitfield, Christian Kandler, Kerry L. Jang, Margaret Gatz, David A. Butler, Maria A. Stazi, Corrado Fagnani, Cristina D’Ippolito, Glen E. Duncan, Dedra Buchwald, Cathérine Derom, Robert Vlietinck, Ruth J. F. Loos, Nicholas G. Martin, Sarah E. Medland, Grant W. Montgomery, Hoe-Uk Jeong, Gary E. Swan, Ruth E. Krasnow, Patrik K. E. Magnusson, Nancy L. Pedersen, A.K. Dahl-Aslan, Tom A. McAdams, Thalia C. Eley, Alice M. Gregory, Per Tynelius, Laura A. Baker, Catherine Tuvblad, Gombojav Bayasgalan, Narandalai Danshiitsoodol, Paul Lichtenstein, Timothy D. Spector, Massimo Mangino, Geneviève Lachance, Meike Bartels, C.E.M. van Beijsterveldt, Gonneke Willemsen, S. Alexandra Burt, Kelly L. Klump, Jennifer R. Harris, Ingunn Brandt, Thomas Sevenius Nilsen, Robert F. Krueger, Matt McGue, Shandell Pahlen, Robin P. Corley, Jacob Hjelmborg, Jack Goldberg, Yoshinori Iwatani, Mikio Watanabe, Chika Honda, Fujio Inui, Finn Rasmussen, Brooke M. Huibregtse, Dorret I. Boomsma, Thorkild I. A. Sørensen, Jaakko Kaprio, Karri Silventoinen,

Genetic Associations and Epidemiology

Human height variation is determined by genetic and environmental factors, but it remains unclear whether their influences differ across birth-year cohorts. We conducted an individual-based pooled analysis of 40 twin cohorts including 143,390 complete twin pairs born 1886–1994. Although genetic variance showed a generally increasing trend across the birth-year cohorts, heritability estimates (0.69-0.84 in men and 0.53-0.78 in women) did not present any clear pattern of secular changes. Comparing geographic-cultural regions (Europe, North America and Australia, and East Asia), total height variance was greatest in North America and Australia and lowest in East Asia, but no clear pattern in the heritability estimates across the birth-year cohorts emerged. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that heritability of height is lower in populations with low living standards than in affluent populations, nor that heritability of height will increase within a population as living standards improve.