. 2020 May 14;10(1):7974.

doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-64883-8.

Genetic and environmental influences on human height from infancy through adulthood at different levels of parental education

Aline Jelenkovic^{1

2}, Reijo Sund^{3

4}, Yoshie Yokoyama⁵, Antti Latvala^{3

6}, Masumi Sugawara⁷, Mami Tanaka⁸, Satoko Matsumoto⁹, Duarte L Freitas¹⁰, José Antonio Maia¹¹, Ariel Knafo-Noam¹², David Mankuta¹³, Lior Abramson¹², Fuling Ji¹⁴, Feng Ning¹⁴, Zengchang Pang¹⁴, Esther Rebato¹⁵, Kimberly J Saudino¹⁶, Tessa L Cutler¹⁷, John L Hopper^{17

18}, Vilhelmina Ullemar¹⁹, Catarina Almqvist^{19

20}, Patrik K E Magnusson¹⁹, Wendy Cozen^{21

22}, Amie E Hwang^{21

22}, Thomas M Mack^{21

22}, Tracy L Nelson²³, Keith E Whitfield²⁴, Joohon Sung^{18

25}, Jina Kim¹⁸, Jooyeon Lee¹⁸, Sooji Lee¹⁸, Clare H Llewellyn²⁶, Abigail Fisher²⁶, Emanuela Medda²⁷, Lorenza Nisticò²⁷, Virgilia Toccaceli²⁷, Laura A Baker²⁸, Catherine Tuvblad^{28

29}, Robin P Corley³⁰, Brooke M Huibregtse³¹, Catherine A Derom^{32

33}, Robert F Vlietinck³², Ruth J F Loos³⁴, S Alexandra Burt³⁵, Kelly L Klump³⁵, Judy L Silberg³⁶, Hermine H Maes³⁷, Robert F Krueger³⁸, Matt McGue³⁸, Shandell Pahlen³⁸, Margaret Gatz^{19

39}, David A Butler⁴⁰, Jennifer R Harris⁴¹, Ingunn Brandt⁴¹, Thomas S Nilsen⁴¹, K Paige Harden⁴², Elliot M Tucker-Drob⁴², Carol E Franz⁴³, William S Kremen^{43

44}, Michael J Lyons⁴⁵, Paul Lichtenstein¹⁹, Meike Bartels⁴⁶, Catharina E M van Beijsterveldt⁴⁶, Gonneke Willemsen⁴⁶, Sevgi Y Öncel⁴⁷, Fazil Aliev⁴⁸, Hoe-Uk Jeong⁴⁹, Yoon-Mi Hur⁴⁹, Eric Turkheimer⁵⁰, Dorret I Boomsma⁴⁶, Thorkild I A Sørensen^{51

52}, Jaakko Kaprio^{53

6}, Karri Silventoinen^{3

54}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, 48080, Spain. aline.jelenkovic@ehu.es.
² Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland. aline.jelenkovic@ehu.es.
³ Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
⁴ Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, 70211, Finland.
⁵ Department of Public Health Nursing, Osaka City University, Osaka, 545-0051, Japan.
⁶ Institute for Molecular Medicine FIMM, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan.
⁸ Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan.
⁹ Institute for Education and Human Development, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, Funchal, 9020-105, Portugal.
¹¹ CIFI2D, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, 4200-450, Portugal.
¹² The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel.
¹³ Hadassah Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel.
¹⁴ Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention, Qingdao Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, 266033, China.
¹⁵ Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Bilbao, 48080, Spain.
¹⁶ Boston University, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston MA, 02215, MA, USA.
¹⁷ Twins Research Australia, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
¹⁸ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea.
¹⁹ Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden.
²⁰ Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Unit at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, 17176, Sweden.
²¹ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA.
²² USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, 90089, California, USA.
²³ Department of Health and Exercise Sciences and Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University, Colorado, 80523, USA.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, 48202, MI, USA.
²⁵ Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea.
²⁶ Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
²⁷ Istituto Superiore di Sanità - Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Rome, 00161, Italy.
²⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
²⁹ School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, 701 82, Sweden.
³⁰ Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80303, USA.
³¹ Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80303, USA.
³² Centre of Human Genetics, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, B-3000, Belgium.
³³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ghent University Hospitals, Ghent, 9820, Belgium.
³⁴ The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, The Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029-5674, USA.
³⁵ Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48823, USA.
³⁶ Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, 23284, USA.
³⁷ Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Psychiatry & Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, 23284, USA.
³⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
³⁹ Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
⁴⁰ Health and Medicine Division, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC, 20001, USA.
⁴¹ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, 0213, Norway.
⁴² Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
⁴³ Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
⁴⁴ VA San Diego Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
⁴⁵ Boston University, Department of Psychology, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
⁴⁶ Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1081, Netherlands.
⁴⁷ Department of Statistics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, 71450, Turkey.
⁴⁸ Karabuk University, Faculty of Business, Karabuk, 78050, Turkey.
⁴⁹ Department of Education, Mokpo National University, Jeonnam, 534-729, South Korea.
⁵⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA.
⁵¹ Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Basic Metabolic Research (Section of Metabolic Genetics), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 1353, Denmark.
⁵² Department of Public Health (Section of Epidemiology), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 1353, Denmark.
⁵³ Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
⁵⁴ Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.

PMID: 32409744
PMCID: PMC7224277
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64883-8

Genetic and environmental influences on human height from infancy through adulthood at different levels of parental education

Aline Jelenkovic et al. Sci Rep. 2020.

. 2020 May 14;10(1):7974.

doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-64883-8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, 48080, Spain. aline.jelenkovic@ehu.es.
² Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland. aline.jelenkovic@ehu.es.
³ Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
⁴ Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, 70211, Finland.
⁵ Department of Public Health Nursing, Osaka City University, Osaka, 545-0051, Japan.
⁶ Institute for Molecular Medicine FIMM, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan.
⁸ Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan.
⁹ Institute for Education and Human Development, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, Funchal, 9020-105, Portugal.
¹¹ CIFI2D, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, 4200-450, Portugal.
¹² The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel.
¹³ Hadassah Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel.
¹⁴ Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention, Qingdao Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, 266033, China.
¹⁵ Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Bilbao, 48080, Spain.
¹⁶ Boston University, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston MA, 02215, MA, USA.
¹⁷ Twins Research Australia, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
¹⁸ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea.
¹⁹ Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden.
²⁰ Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Unit at Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, 17176, Sweden.
²¹ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA.
²² USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, 90089, California, USA.
²³ Department of Health and Exercise Sciences and Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University, Colorado, 80523, USA.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, 48202, MI, USA.
²⁵ Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea.
²⁶ Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
²⁷ Istituto Superiore di Sanità - Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Rome, 00161, Italy.
²⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
²⁹ School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, 701 82, Sweden.
³⁰ Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80303, USA.
³¹ Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80303, USA.
³² Centre of Human Genetics, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, B-3000, Belgium.
³³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ghent University Hospitals, Ghent, 9820, Belgium.
³⁴ The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, The Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029-5674, USA.
³⁵ Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48823, USA.
³⁶ Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, 23284, USA.
³⁷ Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Psychiatry & Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, 23284, USA.
³⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
³⁹ Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
⁴⁰ Health and Medicine Division, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC, 20001, USA.
⁴¹ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, 0213, Norway.
⁴² Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
⁴³ Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
⁴⁴ VA San Diego Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
⁴⁵ Boston University, Department of Psychology, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
⁴⁶ Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1081, Netherlands.
⁴⁷ Department of Statistics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, 71450, Turkey.
⁴⁸ Karabuk University, Faculty of Business, Karabuk, 78050, Turkey.
⁴⁹ Department of Education, Mokpo National University, Jeonnam, 534-729, South Korea.
⁵⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA.
⁵¹ Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Basic Metabolic Research (Section of Metabolic Genetics), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 1353, Denmark.
⁵² Department of Public Health (Section of Epidemiology), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 1353, Denmark.
⁵³ Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
⁵⁴ Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.

PMID: 32409744
PMCID: PMC7224277
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64883-8

Abstract

Genetic factors explain a major proportion of human height variation, but differences in mean stature have also been found between socio-economic categories suggesting a possible effect of environment. By utilizing a classical twin design which allows decomposing the variation of height into genetic and environmental components, we tested the hypothesis that environmental variation in height is greater in offspring of lower educated parents. Twin data from 29 cohorts including 65,978 complete twin pairs with information on height at ages 1 to 69 years and on parental education were pooled allowing the analyses at different ages and in three geographic-cultural regions (Europe, North America and Australia, and East Asia). Parental education mostly showed a positive association with offspring height, with significant associations in mid-childhood and from adolescence onwards. In variance decomposition modeling, the genetic and environmental variance components of height did not show a consistent relation to parental education. A random-effects meta-regression analysis of the aggregate-level data showed a trend towards greater shared environmental variation of height in low parental education families. In conclusion, in our very large dataset from twin cohorts around the globe, these results provide only weak evidence for the study hypothesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Mean height modification effects of parental education with 95% confidence intervals from 1 until 20–69 years of age by sex and geographic-cultural region.

**Figure 2**
Additive genetic (grey), shared environmental (black) and unique environmental (white) variances of height from 1 until 20–69 years of age by sex and parental education in all cohorts.

**Figure 3**
Additive genetic (grey), shared environmental (black) and unique environmental (white) variances of height from 1 until 20–69 years of age by sex, parental education and geographic-cultural region.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Genetic and environmental influences on human height from infancy through adulthood at different levels of parental education

Affiliations

Genetic and environmental influences on human height from infancy through adulthood at different levels of parental education

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

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