Genetic analysis of sex and generation differences in plasma lipid, lipoprotein, and apolipoprotein levels in adolescent twins and their parents

In a sample of Dutch families consisting of parents aged 35–65 years and their twin offspring aged 14–21 years, a significant difference between generations was observed in phenotypic variances and in genetic heritabilities for plasma levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and apolipoproteins (apo) A1, A2, B, and E. For all traits parents were more variable than their offspring. This increase in phenotypic variance was best explained by a genetic model in which individual specific environmental variance increased with increasing age. Genetic variance was the same across generations for nearly all traits except triglycerides and apoE, for which a decrease in genetic variance was observed. This model led to large intergenerational differences in genetic heritabilities. Heritabilities for children were between 65 and 87%, while heritabilities for their parents were between 10 and 50%. No evidence was found for effects of a shared family environment. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.