Heritability and Stability of Resting Blood Pressure in Australian Twins

In Australian twins participating in three different studies (1979–1996), the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to variation in resting systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was studied. The sample consisted of 368 monozygotic and 335 dizygotic twin pairs with measurements for both individuals. Blood pressure measurements in two studies were available for 115 complete twin pairs, and 49 twin pairs had measurements in three studies. This allowed assessment of blood pressure tracking over an average period of 12 years in the age range of 23 to 45 years. Multivariate analyses showed significant heritability (h2) of blood pressure in all studies (SBP h2= 19%–56%, DBP h2= 37%–52%). In addition, the analyses showed that the blood pressure tracking was explained by the same set of genetic factors. These results replicate an earlier finding in Dutch twins that also showed stability of the contribution of genetic factors to blood pressure tracking.