Familial aggregation of blood pressure with respect to anthropometric variables among the Lobana (nomadic origin) population in Punjab, India.

Familial aggregation of blood pressure with respect to anthropometric characteristics was investigated among the Lobana (a tribal origin) population in Punjab, a North Indian state. A total of 505 individuals comprised the study sample, constituting 116 families of 3 generations. The study represents a multivariate model analysis, which includes family data with respect to blood pressure phenotypes and other metric measurements such as height, weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and 4 skinfold measurements. A higher correlation for almost all sets of anthropometric variables with blood pressure was found among the offspring generation as compared with the parental and grandparental generations. The study confirmed that the familial aggregation of blood pressure with respect to anthropometric measurements is strong in the offspring generation. The findings suggest that sharing a household environment has a significant effect on familial aggregation especially for systolic blood pressure.