Aggregation of blood pressure in families: genetic and environmental influences

Abstract

A study was undertaken to determine whether parent-child blood pressure (BP) resemblances reflect parent-child similarities in body build. Those studied were 889 children, 5-18 years old, their parents and relatives because of recognized correlations between body build and BP in individuals, along with familial clustering of these variables. To maximize the likelihood of demonstrating correlations between BP and body build in family members, BP and anthropometric variables of parents whose children were in the upper quintile (group I) and lower quintile (group II) of the same variables were compared. Variance analysis has shown that group I children were heavier (P≤0.001) and more obese (P≤0.01) than group II. The parents of group I had higher systolic BP (P≤0.001), diastolic BP (P≤0.01), were taller (P≤0.0001), heavier (P≤0.001) and more obese (P≤0.01), than the parents of group II. Parent-children BP resemblances reflect parent-children similarities in body build. The study of group I children and their families may give important information about determinants of high BP in children.