Exploring the influence of genetic factors on the physical development of children and adolescents using twins as an example

doi:10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2025.0002

Abstract

Abstract:

Twin study is one of the important classical methods in human genetics. Taking twins as an example, this paper summarizes the influence of genetic factors on the physical development of children and adolescents. The results show that: 1) Almost all physical development characteristics are controlled by polygenic inheritance and are the result of the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors. Most craniofacial characteristics, such as head circumference, head length, and head width, are influenced by genetic factors to some extent. The heritability of head circumference is very low at birth, but generally at a high level (>0.60) after one year old, and mostly above 0.70 after six years old. There are certain gender differences in the heritability of some craniofacial indexes like head length and head breadth. 2) In terms of body development characteristics, the genetic influence on height and sitting height is generally higher than that on circumference, width, body mass, skinfold thickness, and body composition at the same age. Generally, the heritability of various physical indexes is very low at birth, then increases with age, often decreases during rapid development, and increases again towards adulthood. However, the heritability range of the body mass index in adolescent twins of most ethnic groups is 0.60~0.85, which is higher than that in childhood and adulthood. There are gender differences in the heritability of some physical indexes, and for most of them, boys have higher heritability than girls. However, the heritability of somatotype for girls is significantly higher than that of boys, especially in the endomorphic and ectomorphic components. For boys, the mesomorphic component is mainly determined by genetic factors, while the other components are mainly affected by environmental factors. 3) The heritabilities of most variables are the lowest during the growth-spurt period and tend to be the highest subsequently. This indicates that physical development is much more sensitive to environmental factors during the growth-spurt period, and the genetic effect seems to be exerted when a person approaches maturity. 4) When comparing the heritability of development indicators, we should consider the composition of the twin sample, the different methods of heritability estimation, and their performance characteristics. Previous studies have shown that the physical development of children and adolescents is closely related to genetic factors and is the outcome of the combined action of genetic and environmental factors. It is believed that the value of twin research can be more fully demonstrated by modern molecular biology methods, combined with a detailed analysis of environmental factors.

Key words: twins, heritability, child, adolescent, physical development

CLC Number:

Q984

LI Yuling, XIAO Yang, LIU Xiaomin. Exploring the influence of genetic factors on the physical development of children and adolescents using twins as an example[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2025, 44(04): 661-673.

Figures/Tables 3

References 53

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族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	遗传度Heritability		遗传度Heritability	文献Reference
族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	男Boy	女Girl		文献Reference
呼和浩特Hohhot	3~6 a	H₃=0.83, E=0.17	H₃=0.75, E=0.25	[12]
呼和浩特Hohhot	7~12 a	H₃=0.66, C=0.20, E=0.14	H₃=0.66, C=0.20, E=0.14	[13]
合肥Hefei	4~14 a	H₁=0.56, H₂=0.61	H₁=0.56, H₂=0.61	[14]
中国台湾Taiwan, China	1~4 m	H₁=0.34~0.43	H₁=0.34~0.43	[9]
中国台湾Taiwan, China	6 m	H₁=0.63	H₁=0.63	[9]
	9 m	H₁=0.73	H₁=0.73	[9]
	12 m	H₁=0.38	H₁=0.38	[9]
荷兰，澳大利亚The Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Australia	0~1 m	H₃=0.14, C=0.82, E=0.04	H₃=0.14, C=0.82, E=0.04	[11]
	2~3 m	C=0.71, E=0.29	C=0.71, E=0.29	[11]
	4~13 m	H₃=0.84~0.92, E=0.08~0.16	H₃=0.84~0.92, E=0.08~0.16	[11]
	5 a, 7 a	H₃=0.84~0.88, E=0.12~0.16	H₃=0.84~0.88, E=0.12~0.16	[11]
	15 a	H₃=0.79, E=0.21	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	[11]
	16~18 a	H₃=0.81~0.88, E=0.12~0.19	H₃=0.81~0.88, E=0.12~0.19	[11]
	25 a, 50 a	H₃=0.74~0.75, E=0.25~0.26	H₃=0.74~0.75, E=0.25~0.26	[11]
美国USA	11 a	H₃=0.39, C=0.46, E=0.15	H₃=0.84, C=0.01, E=0.15	[15]
	17 a	H₃=0.83, C=0.00, E=0.17	H₃=0.68, C=0.19, E=0.13	[15]

族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	遗传度Heritability		遗传度Heritability	文献Reference
族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	男Boy	女Girl		文献Reference
呼和浩特Hohhot	3~6 a	H₃=0.83, E=0.17	H₃=0.75, E=0.25	[12]
呼和浩特Hohhot	7~12 a	H₃=0.66, C=0.20, E=0.14	H₃=0.66, C=0.20, E=0.14	[13]
合肥Hefei	4~14 a	H₁=0.56, H₂=0.61	H₁=0.56, H₂=0.61	[14]
中国台湾Taiwan, China	1~4 m	H₁=0.34~0.43	H₁=0.34~0.43	[9]
中国台湾Taiwan, China	6 m	H₁=0.63	H₁=0.63	[9]
	9 m	H₁=0.73	H₁=0.73	[9]
	12 m	H₁=0.38	H₁=0.38	[9]
荷兰，澳大利亚The Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Australia	0~1 m	H₃=0.14, C=0.82, E=0.04	H₃=0.14, C=0.82, E=0.04	[11]
	2~3 m	C=0.71, E=0.29	C=0.71, E=0.29	[11]
	4~13 m	H₃=0.84~0.92, E=0.08~0.16	H₃=0.84~0.92, E=0.08~0.16	[11]
	5 a, 7 a	H₃=0.84~0.88, E=0.12~0.16	H₃=0.84~0.88, E=0.12~0.16	[11]
	15 a	H₃=0.79, E=0.21	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	[11]
	16~18 a	H₃=0.81~0.88, E=0.12~0.19	H₃=0.81~0.88, E=0.12~0.19	[11]
	25 a, 50 a	H₃=0.74~0.75, E=0.25~0.26	H₃=0.74~0.75, E=0.25~0.26	[11]
美国USA	11 a	H₃=0.39, C=0.46, E=0.15	H₃=0.84, C=0.01, E=0.15	[15]
	17 a	H₃=0.83, C=0.00, E=0.17	H₃=0.68, C=0.19, E=0.13	[15]

族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	遗传度Heritability		文献Reference
族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	男Boy	女Girl	文献Reference
北京Beijing	6~18 a	H₃=0.93, E=0.07	H₃=0.88, E=0.09	[2]
呼和浩特Hohhot	4~6 a	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	[25]
	7~12 a	H₃=0.73, C=0.15, E=0.11	H₃=0.73, C=0.15, E=0.11	[25]
合肥Hefei	4~14 a	H₁=0.71, H₂=0.71	H₁=0.71, H2=0.71	[14]
中国台湾Taiwan, China	0~12 m	H₁=0.10~0.32	H₁=0.10~0.32	[9]
青海，四川，青岛，江苏，上海，浙江，黑龙江Qinghai, Sichuan, Qingdao, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang	0~2 a	H₃=0.13, C=0.87, E=0.05	H₃=0.07, C=0.83, E=0.05	[26]
	3~5 a	H₃=0.20, C=0.74, E=0.07	H₃=0.18, C=0.76, E=0.05	[26]
	6~8 a	H₃=0.37, C=0.59, E=0.03	H₃=0.32, C=0.63, E=0.05	[26]
	9~11 a	H₃=0.19, C=0.78, E=0.03	H₃=0.19, C=0.76, E=0.04	[26]
	12~14 a	H₃=0.40, C=0.55, E=0.04	H₃=0.25, C=0.70, E=0.05	[26]
	15~17 a	H₃=0.72, C=0.25, E=0.02	H₃=0.19, C=0.78, E=0.03	[26]
芬兰Finland	0 m	H₃=0.36, C=0.35, E=0.29	H₃=0.05, C=0.61, E=0.34	[23]
	16 a	H₃=0.78, C=0.15, E=0.07	H₃=0.77, C=0.14, E=0.09	[23]
79个中低收入国家 79 low - and middle-income countries	0~5 a	H₃=0.46, C=0.52, E=0.03	H₃=0.46, C=0.52, E=0.03	[27]
加拿大，瑞典，丹麦，澳大利亚Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Australia	0~5 m	H₃=0.06~0.19, C=0.65~0.86, E=0.08~0.16	H₃=0.05~0.18, C=0.68~0.87, E=0.08~0.14	[28]
	3~5 a	H₃=0.39~0.43, C=0.53~0.58, E=0.02~0.04	H₃=0.31~0.43, C=0.51~0.64, E=0.02~0.05	[28]
	6~9 a	H₃=0.43~0.56, C=0.41~0.52, E=0.01~0.08	H₃=0.43~0.55, C=0.44~0.53, E=0.02~0.06	[28]
	10~12 a	H₃=0.60~0.68, C=0.23~0.38, E=0.02~0.09	H₃=0.57~0.77, C=0.18~0.50, E=0.03~0.07	[28]
	13~15 a	H₃=0.92~0.95, E=0.05~0.08	H₃=0.91~0.94, E=0.06~0.09	[28]
	16 a	H₃=0.72, C=0.09, E=0.19	H₃=0.65, C=0.17, E=0.18	[28]
	17~19 a	H₃=0.83~0.94, E=0.06~0.17	H₃=0.92~0.97, E=0.04~0.08	[28]
荷兰The Kingdom of the Netherlands	3 a, 4 a, 5 a	H₃=0.71, C=0.19~0.24, E=0.05~0.10	H₃=0.58~0.64, C=0.28~0.35, E=0.08~0.11	[29]
	7 a, 10 a, 12 a	H₃=0.71~0.79, C=0.15~0.21, E=0.06~0.07	H₃=0.71~0.91, C=0.02~0.21, E=0.07~0.08	[29]
韩国Republic of Korea	2~9 a	H₃=0.32, C=0.59, E=0.09	H₃=0.32, C=0.59, E=0.09	[30]
印度India	10~17 a	H₂=0.69	H₂=0.69	[31]
	18~27 a	H₂=0.78	H₂=0.78	[31]
丹麦Denmark	18~67 a	H₃=0.69, C=0.24, E=0.07	H₃=0.81, C=0.13, E=0.06	[32]

族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	遗传度Heritability		文献Reference
族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	男Boy	女Girl	文献Reference
北京Beijing	6~18 a	H₃=0.93, E=0.07	H₃=0.88, E=0.09	[2]
呼和浩特Hohhot	4~6 a	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	[25]
	7~12 a	H₃=0.73, C=0.15, E=0.11	H₃=0.73, C=0.15, E=0.11	[25]
合肥Hefei	4~14 a	H₁=0.71, H₂=0.71	H₁=0.71, H2=0.71	[14]
中国台湾Taiwan, China	0~12 m	H₁=0.10~0.32	H₁=0.10~0.32	[9]
青海，四川，青岛，江苏，上海，浙江，黑龙江Qinghai, Sichuan, Qingdao, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang	0~2 a	H₃=0.13, C=0.87, E=0.05	H₃=0.07, C=0.83, E=0.05	[26]
	3~5 a	H₃=0.20, C=0.74, E=0.07	H₃=0.18, C=0.76, E=0.05	[26]
	6~8 a	H₃=0.37, C=0.59, E=0.03	H₃=0.32, C=0.63, E=0.05	[26]
	9~11 a	H₃=0.19, C=0.78, E=0.03	H₃=0.19, C=0.76, E=0.04	[26]
	12~14 a	H₃=0.40, C=0.55, E=0.04	H₃=0.25, C=0.70, E=0.05	[26]
	15~17 a	H₃=0.72, C=0.25, E=0.02	H₃=0.19, C=0.78, E=0.03	[26]
芬兰Finland	0 m	H₃=0.36, C=0.35, E=0.29	H₃=0.05, C=0.61, E=0.34	[23]
	16 a	H₃=0.78, C=0.15, E=0.07	H₃=0.77, C=0.14, E=0.09	[23]
79个中低收入国家 79 low - and middle-income countries	0~5 a	H₃=0.46, C=0.52, E=0.03	H₃=0.46, C=0.52, E=0.03	[27]
加拿大，瑞典，丹麦，澳大利亚Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Australia	0~5 m	H₃=0.06~0.19, C=0.65~0.86, E=0.08~0.16	H₃=0.05~0.18, C=0.68~0.87, E=0.08~0.14	[28]
	3~5 a	H₃=0.39~0.43, C=0.53~0.58, E=0.02~0.04	H₃=0.31~0.43, C=0.51~0.64, E=0.02~0.05	[28]
	6~9 a	H₃=0.43~0.56, C=0.41~0.52, E=0.01~0.08	H₃=0.43~0.55, C=0.44~0.53, E=0.02~0.06	[28]
	10~12 a	H₃=0.60~0.68, C=0.23~0.38, E=0.02~0.09	H₃=0.57~0.77, C=0.18~0.50, E=0.03~0.07	[28]
	13~15 a	H₃=0.92~0.95, E=0.05~0.08	H₃=0.91~0.94, E=0.06~0.09	[28]
	16 a	H₃=0.72, C=0.09, E=0.19	H₃=0.65, C=0.17, E=0.18	[28]
	17~19 a	H₃=0.83~0.94, E=0.06~0.17	H₃=0.92~0.97, E=0.04~0.08	[28]
荷兰The Kingdom of the Netherlands	3 a, 4 a, 5 a	H₃=0.71, C=0.19~0.24, E=0.05~0.10	H₃=0.58~0.64, C=0.28~0.35, E=0.08~0.11	[29]
	7 a, 10 a, 12 a	H₃=0.71~0.79, C=0.15~0.21, E=0.06~0.07	H₃=0.71~0.91, C=0.02~0.21, E=0.07~0.08	[29]
韩国Republic of Korea	2~9 a	H₃=0.32, C=0.59, E=0.09	H₃=0.32, C=0.59, E=0.09	[30]
印度India	10~17 a	H₂=0.69	H₂=0.69	[31]
	18~27 a	H₂=0.78	H₂=0.78	[31]
丹麦Denmark	18~67 a	H₃=0.69, C=0.24, E=0.07	H₃=0.81, C=0.13, E=0.06	[32]

族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	遗传度Heritability		文献Reference
族群Ethnic group	年龄Age	男Boy	女Girl	文献Reference
北京Beijing	6~18 a	H₃=0.84, E=0.16	H₃=0.80, E=0.19	[2]
呼和浩特Hohhot	4~6 a	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	[25]
	7~12 a	H₃=0.64, C=0.30, E=0.06	H₃=0.61, C=0.10, E=0.30	[25]
青岛Qingdao	8~17 a	H₃=0.63, C=0.28, E=0.08	H₃=0.38, C=0.45, E=0.17	[35]
中国台湾Taiwan, China	0~12 m	H₁=0.10~0.32	H₁=0.10~0.32	[9]
中国台湾Taiwan, China	12~18 a	H₃=0.89, E=0.11	H₃=0.89, E=0.11	[36]
青海，四川，青岛，江苏，上海，浙江，黑龙江Qinghai, Sichuan, Qingdao, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang	0~2 a	H₃=0.15, C=0.76, E=0.09	H₃=0.07, C=0.82, E=0.11	[26]
	3~5 a	H₃=0.17, C=0.72, E=0.10	H₃=0.25, C=0.68, E=0.08	[26]
	6~8 a	H₃=0.17, C=0.75, E=0.08	H₃=0.26, C=0.69, E=0.06	[26]
	9~11 a	H₃=0.27, C=0.67, E=0.06	H₃=0.16, C=0.78, E=0.06	[26]
	12~14 a	H₃=0.58, C=0.34, E=0.08	H₃=0.14, C=0.86, E=0.00	[26]
	15~17 a	H₃=0.40, C=0.47, E=0.12	H₃=0.30, C=0.61, E=0.30	[26]
芬兰Finland	0~1 m	H₃=0.20, C=0.42, E=0.39	H₃=0.47, C=0.18, E=0.35	[23]
芬兰Finland	16 a	H₃=0.84, E=0.16	H₃=0.90, E=0.10	[23]
加拿大，瑞典，丹麦，澳大利亚Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Australia	0~1 m	H₃=0.08, C=0.74, E=0.18	H₃=0.08, C=0.74, E=0.18	[28]
	5 m	H₃=0.86, E=0.14	H₃=0.84, E=0.16	[28]
	3 a	H₃=0.91, E=0.09	H₃=0.87, E=0.13	[28]
	4 a	H₃=0.48, C=0.42, E=0.10	H₃=0.46, C=0.42, E=0.13	[28]
	5 a	H₃=0.65, C=0.25, E=0.11	H₃=0.51, C=0.25, E=0.24	[28]
	6 a	H₃=0.89, E=0.11	H₃=0.92, E=0.08	[28]
	7 a	H₃=0.49, C=0.43, E=0.09	H₃=0.41, C=0.53, E=0.06	[28]
	8 a	H₃=0.76, C=0.10, E=0.15	H₃=0.62, C=0.26, E=0.12	[28]
	9~19 a	H₃=0.74~0.94, E=0.06~0.26	H₃=0.81~0.89, E=0.11~0.19	[28]
荷兰The Kingdom of the Netherlands	3, 4, 5 a	H₃=0.71, C=0.19~0.24, E=0.05~0.10	H₃=0.58~0.64, C=0.28~0.35, E=0.08~0.11	[29]
	7, 10, 12 a	H₃=0.71~0.79, C=0.15~0.21, E=0.06~0.07	H₃=0.71~0.91, C=0.02~0.21, E=0.07~0.08	[29]
韩国Republic of Korea	2~9 a	H₃=0.55, C=0.35, E=0.10	H₃=0.55, C=0.35, E=0.10	[30]
韩国Republic of Korea	13~19 a	H₃=0.82, E=0.18	H₃=0.87, E=0.13	[37]
英国United Kingdom	7 a	H₃=0.60, C=0.22, E=0.18	H₃=0.60, C=0.22, E=0.18	[38]
	10 a	H₃=0.74, C=0.12, E=0.13	H₃=0.74, C=0.12, E=0.13	[38]
美国黑人Black Americans	12~18 a	H₃=0.90, E=0.10	H₃=0.90, E=0.10	[34]
美国白人White Americans	12~18 a	H₃=0.89, E=0.11	H₃=0.89, E=0.11	[34]
丹麦Denmark	18~67 a	H₃=0.63, C=0.07, E=0.30	H₃=0.58, C=0.19, E=0.23	[32]