Familial Aggregation of Stress Response

BACKGROUND:

Given recent advances in the analyses of genetic epidemiologic data, the database presented a unique opportunity to address timely issues pertinent to the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to individual differences in cardiovascular reactivity.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

Secondary data analyses were performed on family data obtained in an ongoing hypertension genetic study conducted at the University of Utah with Roger R. Williams as principal investigator. The available data represented one of the largest studies of cardiovascular reactivity among genetically related individuals. During 1981-83, a total of 2,548 subjects, members of 98 extended families (multiple generations and multiple nuclear families) participated in an extensive cardiovascular examination and were assessed on a comprehensive battery of cardiovascular tests. Annual follow-up questionnaires obtained information about the onset of hypertension and new medication prescribed. In 1991-92, a follow-up exam was conducted on 1,500 subjects.

The data analysis attempted to confirm or refute hypotheses postulating a reactivity-hypertension association; investigated whether there was a sex limitation in the genetic and environmental determinants of reactivity; explored genotype-by-age interactions in the control of reactivity;and determined whether there was shared genetic and/or environmental variance between reactivity and other recognized cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity or lipids.