Heritability of Cardiothoracic Ratio and Aortic Arch Calcification in Twins

Autor: Zsofia Jokkel, Bianka Forgo, Christopher Hani-Gaius Ghattas, Marton Piroska, Helga Szabó, David L. Tarnoki, Adam D. Tarnoki, Sooji Lee, Joohon Sung
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Medicina, Vol 57, Iss 5, p 421 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1648-9144
1010-660X
DOI: 10.3390/medicina57050421
Popis: Background and Objectives: Aortic arch calcification (AoAC) is associated with a variety of cardiovascular complications. The measurement and grading of AoAC using posteroanterior (PA) chest X-rays are well established. The cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) can be simultaneously measured with PA chest X-rays and used as an index of cardiomegaly. The genetic and environmental contributions to the degree of the AoAC and CTR are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of genetics and environmental factors on the AoAC and CTR. Materials and Methods: A total of 684 twins from the South Korean twin registry (261 monozygotic, MZ and 81 dizygotic, DZ pairs; mean age 38.6 ± 7.9 years, male/female = 264/420) underwent PA chest X-rays. Cardiovascular risk factors and anthropometric data were also collected. The AoAC and CTR were measured and graded using a standardized method. A structural equation method was used to calculate the proportion of variance explained by genetic and environmental factors behind AoAC and CTR. Results: The within-pair differences were low regarding the grade of AoAC, with only a few twin pairs showing large intra-pair differences. We found that the thoracic width showed high heritability (0.67, 95% CI: 0.59–0.73, p = 1). Moderate heritability was detected regarding cardiac width (0.54, 95% CI: 0.45–0.62, p = 0.572) and CTR (0.54, 95% CI: 0.44–0.62, p = 0.701). Conclusions: The heritable component was significant regarding thoracic width, cardiac width, and the CTR.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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