Association of body mass index with arterial stiffness and blood pressure components: A twin study

Abstract Rationale Obesity, blood pressure and arterial stiffness are heritable traits interconnected to each other but their possible common genetic and environmental etiologies are unknown. Methods We studied 228 monozygotic and 150 dizygotic twin pairs aged 18–82 years from Italy, Hungary and the United States, of which 45 monozygotic and 38 dizygotic pairs were discordant for body mass index (BMI; intrapair difference (Δ) in BMI ≥ 3 kg/m2 ). Blood pressure components and arterial stiffness were measured by TensioMed Arteriograph. Results Hypertension was more prevalent among obese than non-obese individuals (55% vs. 29%, p