eLife (Dec 2016)
Genetic and environmental influences on adult human height across birth cohorts from 1886 to 1994
- Aline Jelenkovic,
- Yoon-Mi Hur,
- Reijo Sund,
- Yoshie Yokoyama,
- Sisira H Siribaddana,
- Matthew Hotopf,
- Athula Sumathipala,
- Fruhling Rijsdijk,
- Qihua Tan,
- Dongfeng Zhang,
- Zengchang Pang,
- Sari Aaltonen,
- Kauko Heikkilä,
- Sevgi Y Öncel,
- Fazil Aliev,
- Esther Rebato,
- Adam D Tarnoki,
- David L Tarnoki,
- Kaare Christensen,
- Axel Skytthe,
- Kirsten O Kyvik,
- Judy L Silberg,
- Lindon J Eaves,
- Hermine H Maes,
- Tessa L Cutler,
- John L Hopper,
- Juan R Ordoñana,
- Juan F Sánchez-Romera,
- Lucia 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,
- Catherine A Derom,
- Robert F Vlietinck,
- Ruth JF Loos,
- Nicholas G Martin,
- Sarah E Medland,
- Grant W Montgomery,
- Hoe-Uk Jeong,
- Gary E Swan,
- Ruth Krasnow,
- Patrik KE Magnusson,
- Nancy L Pedersen,
- Anna K Dahl-Aslan,
- Tom A McAdams,
- Thalia C Eley,
- Alice M Gregory,
- Per Tynelius,
- Laura A Baker,
- Catherine Tuvblad,
- Gombojav Bayasgalan,
- Danshiitsoodol Narandalai,
- Paul Lichtenstein,
- Timothy D Spector,
- Massimo Mangino,
- Genevieve Lachance,
- Meike Bartels,
- Toos CEM 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 v B Hjelmborg,
- Jack H 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
Affiliations
- Aline Jelenkovic
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
- Yoon-Mi Hur
- Department of Education, Mokpo National University, Jeonnam, South Korea
- Reijo Sund
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Yoshie Yokoyama
- Department of Public Health Nursing, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
- Sisira H Siribaddana
- Institute of Research & Development, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka; Faculty of Medicine & Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Sri Lanka
- Matthew Hotopf
- NIHR Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Athula Sumathipala
- Institute of Research & Development, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka; Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, School for Primary Care Research, Faculty of Health, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
- Fruhling Rijsdijk
- MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Qihua Tan
- Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Dongfeng Zhang
- Department of Public Health, Qingdao University Medical College, Qingdao, China
- Zengchang Pang
- Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention, Qingdao Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, China
- Sari Aaltonen
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Kauko Heikkilä
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Sevgi Y Öncel
- Department of Statistics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey
- Fazil Aliev
- Faculty of Business, Karabuk University, Karabuk, Turkey; Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, United States; Department of African American Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, United States
- Esther Rebato
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
- Adam D Tarnoki
- Department of Radiology and Oncotherapy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; Hungarian Twin Registry, Budapest, Hungary
- David L Tarnoki
- Department of Radiology and Oncotherapy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; Hungarian Twin Registry, Budapest, Hungary
- Kaare Christensen
- The Danish Twin Registry, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Biodemography, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark; Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
- Axel Skytthe
- The Danish Twin Registry, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Biodemography, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Kirsten O Kyvik
- Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Odense Patient data Explorative Network (OPEN), Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
- Judy L Silberg
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States
- Lindon J Eaves
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States
- Hermine H Maes
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Psychiatry & Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States
- Tessa L Cutler
- The Australian Twin Registry, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- John L Hopper
- The Australian Twin Registry, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
- Juan R Ordoñana
- Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain; IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain
- Juan F Sánchez-Romera
- IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain; Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Lucia Colodro-Conde
- Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain; QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- Wendy Cozen
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States; USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, United States
- Amie E Hwang
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
- Thomas M Mack
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States; USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, United States
- Joohon Sung
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, South-Korea
- Yun-Mi Song
- Department of Family Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South-Korea
- Sarah Yang
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, South-Korea
- Kayoung Lee
- Department of Family Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea
- Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States
- William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States; VA San Diego Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Michael J Lyons
- Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, United States
- Andreas Busjahn
- HealthTwiSt GmbH, Berlin, Germany
- Tracy L Nelson
- Department of Health and Exercise Sciences and Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University, Colorado, United States
- Keith E Whitfield
- Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, United States
- Christian Kandler
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Kerry L Jang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Margaret Gatz
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- David A Butler
- Health and Medicine Division, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, United States
- Maria A Stazi
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità - National Center for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Rome, Italy
- Corrado Fagnani
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità - National Center for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Rome, Italy
- Cristina D'Ippolito
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità - National Center for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Rome, Italy
- Glen E Duncan
- Washington State Twin Registry, Washington State University - Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, United States
- Dedra Buchwald
- Washington State Twin Registry, Washington State University, Seattle, United States
- Catherine A Derom
- Centre of Human Genetics, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ghent University Hospitals, Ghent, Belgium
- Robert F Vlietinck
- Centre of Human Genetics, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Ruth JF Loos
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States; The Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States
- Nicholas G Martin
- Genetic Epidemiology Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- Sarah E Medland
- Genetic Epidemiology Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- Grant W Montgomery
- Molecular Epidemiology Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- Hoe-Uk Jeong
- Department of Education, Mokpo National University, Jeonnam, South Korea
- Gary E Swan
- Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, United States
- Ruth Krasnow
- Center for Health Sciences, SRI International, Menlo Park, United States
- Patrik KE Magnusson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Nancy L Pedersen
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Anna K Dahl-Aslan
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Institute of Gerontology and Aging Research Network – Jönköping (ARN-J), School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden
- Tom A McAdams
- MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Thalia C Eley
- MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Alice M Gregory
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Per Tynelius
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Laura A Baker
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
- Catherine Tuvblad
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States; School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
- Gombojav Bayasgalan
- Healthy Twin Association of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- Danshiitsoodol Narandalai
- Healthy Twin Association of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
- Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Timothy D Spector
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College, London, United Kingdom
- Massimo Mangino
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College, London, United Kingdom
- Genevieve Lachance
- Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College, London, United Kingdom
- Meike Bartels
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Toos CEM van Beijsterveldt
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Gonneke Willemsen
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- S Alexandra Burt
- Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States
- Kelly L Klump
- Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States
- Jennifer R Harris
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Ingunn Brandt
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Thomas Sevenius Nilsen
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Robert F Krueger
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
- Matt McGue
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
- Shandell Pahlen
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
- Robin P Corley
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, United States
- Jacob v B Hjelmborg
- The Danish Twin Registry, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Biodemography, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Jack H Goldberg
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
- Yoshinori Iwatani
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Mikio Watanabe
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Chika Honda
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Fujio Inui
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan; Faculty of Health Science, Kio University, Nara, Japan
- Finn Rasmussen
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Brooke M Huibregtse
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, United States
- Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Thorkild I A Sørensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Basic Metabolic Research (Section on Metabolic Genetics), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Institute of Preventive Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospitals, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Jaakko Kaprio
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Institute for Molecular Medicine FIMM, Helsinki, Finland
- Karri Silventoinen
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.20320
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 5
Abstract
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.
Keywords
