Familial aggregation of lipids and lipoproteins and early identification of dyslipoproteinemia. The Collaborative Lipid Research Clinics Family Study

J. A. Morrison, K. Namboodiri, P. Green, J. Martin and C. J. Glueck

We examined the hypothesis that familial aggregation of lipids and lipoproteins facilitates within-family identification and hyperlipoproteinemia. We studied 841 offspring and 1,236 siblings of normocholesterolemic probands, 833 offspring and 1,194 siblings of hypercholesterolemic probands, 806 offspring and 1,099 siblings of normotriglyceridemic probands, and 877 offspring and 1,108 siblings of hypertriglyceridemic probands in the Lipid Research Clinics Collaborative Family Study Program. As the categorization of probands' hypercholesterolemia or hypertriglyceridemia increased from sporadic, to persistent, to severe, the percentage of hypercholesterolemic or hypertriglyceridemic offspring and siblings increased. Close sibling and parent-offspring lipid and lipoprotein risk factor associations in hypercholesterolemic and hypertriglyceridemic family units during and after the period of shared common-household environment facilitate within-family identification of dyslipoproteinemia and suggest potential sharing of coronary heart disease risk.