A genome-wide scan for loci affecting normal adult height in the Framingham Heart Study

OBJECTIVE: To map loci influencing normal adult height in 335 families from the Framingham Heart Study. METHODS: We analyzed data consisting of 1,702 genotyped individuals who have been followed over time. The first height measurement for individuals between the ages 20-55 years was analyzed in a genome-wide scan using variance component linkage analysis. Sex, age, and cohort effects were removed before analysis. RESULTS: Two regions (18pter-p11, 22q11.2) with multipoint LOD scores >1.0 (-log p values >2.0) were detected: we obtained LOD scores of 1.38 at D18S1364, and of 1.10 at D22S345. Analysis of height as a sex-limited phenotype revealed a peak in the 9p21 region near D9S319 with a maximum LOD score of 1.65 (-log p value >3.0) when only male height phenotypes were used. When only female phenotypes were used, a peak with a maximum LOD score of 1.85 (-log p value of 2.70) was observed in the 11q25-qter region near D11S2359. CONCLUSIONS: Our region of interest on chromosome 9 has been implicated by two prior studies. Variance components analysis appeared to be sensitive to pedigree structures as well as the method of IBD computation used.