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Familial aggregation of blood pressure in a highly inbred community, Abu Ghosh, Israel
Insights
In a highly inbred community, researchers found significant familial aggregation of blood pressure in children. Father-child blood pressure correlations were notable, suggesting a unique genetic influence in this population.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular epidemiology
- Human genetics
- Population studies
Background:
- The Abu Ghosh community, a highly inbred population of over 2000 Israeli Arabs, exhibits unusually high rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
- Understanding familial aggregation of blood pressure is crucial, especially in genetically isolated populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate familial aggregation patterns of blood pressure within the unique population structure of the Abu Ghosh community.
- To determine if the community's genetic makeup influences blood pressure inheritance.
Main Methods:
- Studied 797 children aged 2-14 years from 220 families within the Abu Ghosh community.
- Calculated intraclass correlation coefficients for systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
- Analyzed correlations adjusted for Quetelet's index (body mass index) and stratified by parental relationships (father-child, mother-child, sibling-sibling).
Main Results:
- Significant familial aggregation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure was observed (intraclass correlations: 0.20-0.26, p<0.001).
- Father-child blood pressure correlations were significant (e.g., 0.18 for Korotkoff V diastolic, p<0.001), while mother-child correlations were not.
- Adjustment for Quetelet's index strengthened father-child correlations but did not impact mother-child findings.
Conclusions:
- The study identified significant familial aggregation of blood pressure in the Abu Ghosh community.
- Father-child blood pressure aggregation patterns were unique and statistically significant, unlike sibling-sibling aggregation.
- These findings suggest a potential genetic influence on blood pressure within this inbred population that warrants further investigation.
Abstract:
Abu Ghosh is a highly inbred community of more than 2000 Israeli Arabs in which all members are descendants of two brothers and in which individual blood pressures, rates of hypertension, and corresponding morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease are inordinately high. Accordingly, patterns of familial aggregation of blood pressure were investigated to determine if the population structure of this community might affect familial aggregation. In a study of children aged 2-14 years, significant familial aggregation of blood pressure was found in 797 children in 220 families. Intraclass correlation coefficients for systolic, Korotkoff IV and Korotkoff V diastolic blood pressures were 0.20, 0.21, and 0.26, respectively (all p less than 0.001). When correlated for Quetelet's index, the correlation coefficients were 0.21, 0.19, and 0.23, respectively (all p less than 0.001). Father-child correlation coefficients were 0.15, 0.18 and 0.12 with p-values of p = 0.003, p less than 0.001 and p = 0.024, respectively. Mother-child correlations were not significant. Adjustment for Quetelet's index increased the father-child correlations (p less than 0.001), but the mother-child correlations remained not significant. Although father-son correlations tended to be stronger than father-daughter correlations, and mother-daughter correlations tended to be stronger than mother-son correlations, these were trends and not statistically significant. Although the Abu Ghosh community is an extended family of common, known ancestry, the sib-sib aggregations were not different from those found in random families, but the father-child aggregations were unique and warrant further study.