Published Online
on August 26, 2004

A more recent version of this article appeared on October 1, 2004

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 35/10/2243    most recent 01.STR.0000142132.20442.d8v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hank Juo, S.-H. Articles by Sacco, R. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hank Juo, S.-H. Articles by Sacco, R. L. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Hispanic-American Health Nutrition Obesity Related Collections Obesity Risk Factors Carotid Stenosis Doppler ultrasound, Transcranial Doppler etc. Epidemiology Genetics of cardiovascular disease

Submitted on May 26, 2004
Revised on July 15, 2004
Accepted on July 29, 2004

Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Obesity Phenotypes in the Northern Manhattan Family Study

Suh-Hang Hank Juo MD, PhD^*; Hsiu-Fen Lin MD; Tanja Rundek MD, PhD; Edison A. Sabala BA; Bernadette Boden-Albala MPH, DrPH; Naeun Park MS; Min-Yu Lan MD, MS; and Ralph L. Sacco MD, MS

From the Genome Center (S.-H.H.J., H.-F.L., N.P., M.-Y.L.), Department of Neurology (T.R., E.A.S., B.B.-A., R.L.S.), Neurological Institute, and the Departments of Sociomedical Science (B.B.-A.) and Epidemiology (S.-H.H.J., R.L.S.), Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY; the Department of Neurology (H.F.-L.), Kaoshiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; the Department of Neurology (M.-Y.L.), Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and the Department of Medical Research (S.-H.H.J.), Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: shj34{at}columbia.edu.

Background and Purpose--Both carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and obesity are independent determinants of stroke and cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of obesity is higher in Hispanics. The genetic basis of IMT and obesity has not been well-characterized in Caribbean Hispanics. The purpose of this study was to examine the genetic and environmental contributions to IMT and obesity in this population.

Methods--The data included 440 subjects from 77 Caribbean Hispanic families. Mean IMT and maximum IMT were measured in the internal carotid artery, common carotid artery, and carotid bifurcation. The total IMT was calculated as the mean value of IMT at all segments. Obesity phenotypes included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist/hip ratio (WHR), and skin-fold thickness. Variance component methods were used to estimate age-adjusted and sex-adjusted heritability. Bivariate analyses were conducted to test for genetic and environmental correlations between IMT and obesity.

Results--Heritabilities for IMT ranged from 9% to 40%, with the highest for total maximum IMT and lowest for internal carotid artery maximum IMT. Heritabilities for BMI, waist circumference, WHR, and skin-fold thickness were 44%, 47%, 5%, and 36%, respectively. There were significant genetic, but not environmental, correlations between IMT and BMI, waist circumference, and skin-fold thickness. There were no genetic or environmental correlations between IMT and WHR.

Conclusions--We found a substantial genetic contribution to IMT, BMI, waist circumference, and skin-fold thickness. Obesity and IMT may share common genetic factors. Future gene mapping studies are warranted to identify genes predisposing to IMT and obesity in this population.

Key words: carotid arteries • genetics • obesity • stroke

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Rundek, H. Arif, B. Boden-Albala, M. S. Elkind, M. C. Paik, and R. L. Sacco Carotid plaque, a subclinical precursor of vascular events: The Northern Manhattan Study Neurology, April 1, 2008; 70(14): 1200 - 1207. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Paternoster, N. A. Martinez Gonzalez, S. Lewis, and C. Sudlow Association Between Apolipoprotein E Genotype and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness May Suggest a Specific Effect on Large Artery Atherothrombotic Stroke Stroke, January 1, 2008; 39(1): 48 - 54. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. C. Godia, R. Madhok, J. Pittman, S. Trocio, R. Ramas, D. Cabral, R. L. Sacco, and T. Rundek Carotid Artery Distensibility: A Reliability Study J. Ultrasound Med., September 1, 2007; 26(9): 1157 - 1165. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. L. Sacco The 2006 William Feinberg Lecture: Shifting the Paradigm From Stroke to Global Vascular Risk Estimation Stroke, June 1, 2007; 38(6): 1980 - 1987. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Murabito, C.-Y. Guo, C. S. Fox, and R. B. D'Agostino Heritability of the Ankle-Brachial Index: The Framingham Offspring Study Am. J. Epidemiol., November 15, 2006; 164(10): 963 - 968. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. M. van Asselt, H. S. Kok, Y. T. van der Schouw, P. H.M. Peeters, P. L. Pearson, and D. E. Grobbee Role of Genetic Analyses in Cardiology: Part II: Heritability Estimation for Gene Searching in Multifactorial Diseases Circulation, February 28, 2006; 113(8): 1136 - 1139. [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.-H. H. Juo, T. Rundek, H.-F. Lin, R. Cheng, M.-Y. Lan, J. S. Huang, B. Boden-Albala, and R. L. Sacco Heritability of Carotid Artery Distensibility in Hispanics: The Northern Manhattan Family Study Stroke, November 1, 2005; 36(11): 2357 - 2361. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F.A. Sayed-Tabatabaei, M.J.E. van Rijn, A.F.C. Schut, Y.S. Aulchenko, E.A. Croes, M.C. Zillikens, H.A.P. Pols, J.C.M. Witteman, B.A. Oostra, and C.M. van Duijn Heritability of the Function and Structure of the Arterial Wall: Findings of the Erasmus Rucphen Family (ERF) Study Stroke, November 1, 2005; 36(11): 2351 - 2356. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Dichgans and H. S. Markus Genetic Association Studies in Stroke: Methodological Issues and Proposed Standard Criteria Stroke, September 1, 2005; 36(9): 2027 - 2031. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.-H. Hank Juo, M. R. Di Tullio, H.-F. Lin, T. Rundek, B. Boden-Albala, S. Homma, and R. L. Sacco Heritability of Left Ventricular Mass and Other Morphologic Variables in Caribbean Hispanic Subjects: The Northern Manhattan Family Study J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., August 16, 2005; 46(4): 735 - 737. [Full Text] [PDF]