Genetic and environmental determinants of cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol concentrations in blood

Serum cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol have been studied in 274 Swedish nuclear families. The families were ascertained through the Swedish twin registry and consisted of married mono- and dizygous twins, their spouses and with at least one adult child. Total cholesterol was determined using an enzymatic colorimetric method and HDL-cholesterol by the heparin-manganese chloride precipitation method. The genetic analysis was performed using a path analytic model to resolve genetic and cultural heritability, marital correlations and maternal effects. Genetic heritability was 0.50 and 0.37 for total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol, respectively. Cultural heritability was small, 0.04, for cholesterol but substantial 0.22, for HDL-cholesterol. A maternal effect was evident for cultural inheritance for HDL-cholesterol but not for cholesterol.