Heritability of stature in a West African population

Heritability of stature in a West African population is calculated from longitudinal data collected over 26 years. Statistical and analytical difficulties encountered in the study include those due to variation in stature with age, sex, recording and measuring, variation in number of offspring, variation in number of spouses, and heterogeneity of within-sibship variances. The structure of the population allows a half-sib analysis which is particularly useful in interpretation of the intrafamilial correlations and regressions. The heritability estimate of 0.6 appears lower than that from studies in European populations. The environmental contribution to the stature variance is pronounced, but is not unexpected in the light of the rigours of the traditional way of life in West African surroundings.