Genetic and environmental influences on adult human height across birth cohorts from 1886 to 1994

• DOI: 10.7554/elife.20320
• Publication Date: 2016-12-13T12:00:47Z
• Authors: Aline Jelenkovic; Yoon-Mi Hur; Reijo Sund; Yoshie Yokoyama; Sisira H Siribaddana; Matthew Hotopf; Athula Sumathipala; Fruhling Rijsdijk; Qihua Tan; Dongfeng Zhang; Zengchang Pang; Sari Aaltonen; Kauko Heikkilä; Sevgi Y Öncel; Fazil Aliev; Esther Rebato; Adam D Tarnoki; David L Tarnoki; Kaare Christensen; Axel Skytthe; Kirsten O Kyvik; Judy L Silberg; Lindon J Eaves; Hermine H Maes; Tessa L Cutler; John L Hopper; Juan R Ordoñana; Juan F Sánchez-Ro...; Lucia Colodro-Conde; Wendy Cozen; Amie E Hwang; Thomas M Mack; Joohon Sung; Yun-Mi Song; Sarah Yang; Kayoung Lee; Carol E Franz; William S Kremen; Michael J Lyons; Andreas Busjahn; Tracy L Nelson; Keith E Whitfield; Christian Kandler; Kerry L Jang; Margaret Gatz; David A Butler; Maria A Stazi; Corrado Fagnani; Cristina D'Ippolito; Glen E Duncan; Dedra Buchwald; Catherine A Derom; Robert F Vlietinck; Ruth JF Loos; Nicholas G Martin; Sarah E Medland; Grant W Montgomery; Hoe-Uk Jeong; Gary E Swan; Ruth Krasnow; Patrik KE Magnusson; Nancy L Pedersen; Anna K Dahl-Aslan; Tom A McAdams; Thalia C Eley; Alice M Gregory; Per Tynelius; Laura A Baker; Catherine Tuvblad; Gombojav Bayasgalan; Danshiitsoodol Na...; Paul Lichtenstein; Timothy D Spector; Massimo Mangino; Genevieve Lachance; Meike Bartels; Toos CEM van Beij...; Gonneke Willemsen; S Alexandra Burt; Kelly L Klump; Jennifer R Harris; Ingunn Brandt; Thomas Sevenius N...; Robert F Krueger; Matt McGue; Shandell Pahlen; Robin P Corley; Jacob v B Hjelmborg; Jack H Goldberg; Yoshinori Iwatani; Mikio Watanabe; Chika Honda; Fujio Inui; Finn Rasmussen; Brooke M Huibregtse; Dorret I Boomsma; Thorkild I A Søre...; Jaakko Kaprio; Karri Silventoinen
• Keywords: 2800 Neuroscience; Netherlands Twin Register (NTR); Male; medicine; LOCI; body-mass index; Twins; heritability; Global Health; Public health care science, environmental and occupational health; Evolutionsbiologi; Cohort Studies; Sociology; genetic variability; 80 and over; Medicine and Health Sciences; Biology (General); Aged, 80 and over; birth cohorts; 0303 health sciences; General Neuroscience; adult; Q; R; 2400 Immunology and Microbiology; WOMEN; human biology; Genetik och genomik; General Medicine; twins; Hälsovetenskaper; Middle Aged; Body Height - genetics; Europe; female; Medicine; Female; Utvecklingsbiologi; TWIN COHORTS; TRAITS; Adult; Asia; 1300 Biochemistry; QH301-705.5; Science; Genetics and Molecular Biology; 333; CODATwins project; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; AGE; male; Behavioral Sciences Biology; 616; Health Sciences; Genetics; Humans; human; GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION; Genetik; infancy; Human Biology and Medicine; Etologi; Aged; Evolutionary Biology; General Immunology and Microbiology; INFANT-MORTALITY; Australia; Biology and Life Sciences; Genetics and Genomics; Environmental Exposure; Body Height; BODY-MASS INDEX; CODATWINS PROJECT; Earth and Environmental Sciences; General Biochemistry; North America; genome-wide association; RA; meta analysis; Developmental Biology; height

Human height variation is determined by genetic and environmental factors, but it remains unclear whether their influences differ across birth-year cohorts. We conducted an individual-based pooled analysis of 40 twin cohorts including 143,390 complete twin pairs born 1886–1994. Although genetic variance showed a generally increasing trend across the birth-year cohorts, heritability estimates (0.69-0.84 in men and 0.53-0.78 in women) did not present any clear pattern of secular changes. Comparing geographic-cultural regions (Europe, North America and Australia, and East Asia), total height variance was greatest in North America and Australia and lowest in East Asia, but no clear pattern in the heritability estimates across the birth-year cohorts emerged. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that heritability of height is lower in populations with low living standards than in affluent populations, nor that heritability of height will increase within a population as living standards improve.