The genetic epidemiology of growth and development

This chapter provides an overview of the genetic epidemiology of normal human growth and development. It shows how auxologists can most profitably study the genetics of growth and development with the methods and approaches available today. Several quantitative genetic terms and concepts are important for an understanding of the genetic epidemiology of normal growth and development, including heritability, genetic and environmental correlations, population-based and genome-wide association studies, and quantitative trait linkage analysis. Different study designs, including twin studies, nuclear families and extended pedigrees, are used to examine genetic influences on primarily quantitative traits. A brief review of historical and modern genetic studies of human growth is also presented.