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Heritability of Cardiothoracic Ratio and Aortic Arch Calcification in Twins

Zsofia Jokkel1, Bianka Forgo2, Christopher Hani-Gaius Ghattas1

  • 1Medical Imaging Centre, Semmelweis University, 78/A Üllői Street, 1082 Budapest, Hungary.

Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)
|April 30, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Genetics significantly influences thoracic width, cardiac width, and the cardiothoracic ratio (CTR), as shown by twin studies. These findings highlight the heritable component of cardiovascular indices measured on chest X-rays.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Imaging and Genetics
  • Twin Study Methodology
  • Quantitative Trait Analysis

Background:

  • Aortic arch calcification (AoAC) and cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) are linked to cardiovascular disease.
  • AoAC and CTR are measurable via posteroanterior (PA) chest X-rays.
  • Genetic and environmental influences on AoAC and CTR are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the genetic and environmental contributions to AoAC and CTR.
  • To quantify heritability of thoracic and cardiac dimensions.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 684 South Korean twins (261 monozygotic, 81 dizygotic pairs).
  • Collected PA chest X-rays, cardiovascular risk factors, and anthropometric data.
  • Employed structural equation modeling to assess genetic and environmental variance.

Main Results:

  • Thoracic width exhibited high heritability (0.67).
  • Cardiac width and CTR showed moderate heritability (0.54 each).
  • Low within-pair differences in AoAC grade were observed.

Conclusions:

  • A significant heritable component influences thoracic width.
  • Genetic factors play a moderate role in cardiac width and CTR.
  • Twin study confirms genetic basis for cardiovascular dimensions on chest X-rays.

Keywords:
aortic calcificationatherosclerosiscardiothoracic ratioheritabilitytwin study

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