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Evidence for heritability of abdominal aortic calcific deposits in the Framingham Heart Study

Christopher J O'Donnell1, Irmarie Chazaro, Peter W F Wilson

  • 1National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, Mass 01702, USA. chris@fram.nhlbi.nih.gov

Circulation
|July 18, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Genetic factors significantly influence abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), a marker for atherosclerosis. Nearly half of the variation in AAC is attributed to heritable traits, suggesting a genetic basis for this cardiovascular disease predictor.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Genetics
  • Atherosclerosis Research
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease linked to cardiovascular disease.
  • Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) on radiographs indicates atherosclerosis and predicts cardiovascular events.
  • The heritability of aortic calcification remains largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the heritability of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC).
  • To determine the proportion of variance in AAC attributable to genetic and environmental factors.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of lateral lumbar radiographs from 2151 participants in the Framingham Heart Study.
  • Quantification of abdominal aortic calcific (AAC) deposits using a validated rating scale.
  • Calculation of correlation coefficients in familial pairs (parent-offspring, sibling, spouse) and heritability estimation using SOLAR variance component methods.

Main Results:

  • Age-, sex-, and multivariable-adjusted correlation coefficients for AAC were 0.52 for parent-offspring and 0.20 for sibling pairs.
  • Heritability of AAC was estimated at 0.49 (P<0.001), indicating significant genetic influence.
  • Forty-nine percent of the overall variance in AAC deposits was attributed to heritable factors, with 31% due to measured covariates.

Conclusions:

  • Heritable factors significantly contribute to the presence and extent of abdominal aortic calcification.
  • A substantial portion of AAC variation is due to additive genetic effects requiring further characterization.
  • AAC measures can serve as heritable quantitative phenotypes for genetic studies of atherosclerosis.
Abstract

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