The effects of age, body wight and family relationships on plasma lipoproteins and lipids in men, women and children of randomly selected families.

Two hundred thirty-three families were randomly selected from a designated population base. Data from 619 persons ages 6--65 years had distributions of lipid and anthropometric values typical for the U.S. population. The typical rise in plasma cholesterol and triglyceride with age was also demonstrated. The plasma cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) correlated more strongly with age than body weight, whereas the plasma triglyceride was more related to body weight than to age. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) was inversely correlated with weight and plasma triglyceride. Family membership accounted for approximately 20% of the variability in cholesterol, LDL, HDL and weight. Related family members (father-child, mother-child and siblings) had strong correlations for plasma cholesterol, LDL and HDL. These measurements did not correlate in the spouse pairs. The plasma triglyceride did not correlate for the family as a whole nor for the individual family members. This study indicates the importance of both chronic environmental factors and genetic family relationships on plasma lipids and lipoproteins.