Heritability is defined as the degree to which individual genetic variation accounts for phenotypic variation seen in a population. In a scientifically sloppy sense, it's somewhat (mis)used to give a sense of what proportion of your risk for a given disease is derived from your genes (as opposed to non-genetic influences, such as your environment, diet, etc). Wikipedia
Most heritability estimates have been based on family (and twin) studies. An approach developed more recently ([PMID 25383972]) estimates heritability based on unrelated individuals of mixed ethnic ("admixed") backgrounds. This approach appears to indicate lower heritability than is estimated from twin studies; for example, heritability estimates for height and body mass index are 0.55 and 0.23, respectively, compared to the ~0.80 and ~0.50 estimates from twin studies. If heritability is lower than classically thought, the proportion of genetic variance explained by SNP studies is actually significantly higher - relatively common SNPs may explain most genetic variation.
It is important to remember that high heritability does not imply that a trait or disease is inevitable. In fact, some highly heritable traits can be modified by simple changes in the environment. Phenylketonuria (PKU), for example, is a genetic disease with high heritability that can be strongly influenced by a relatively straightforward change in diet (restricting intake of the amino acid phenylalanine). Even if Alzheimer's disease has a relatively high heritability, environmental factors and changes may alter disease progression and severity.
Heritability estimates for selected medical conditions present in SNPedia are summarized below; an independent source of information about heritability in humans (as well as other species) can be found at H2DB.
| Medical Condition / Topic
|
Heritability Est.
|
References
|
| Age-related macular degeneration
|
49 - 71%
|
[PMID 9869796]
|
| Alcoholism
|
50 - 60%
|
[PMID 19785977]
|
| Alzheimer's disease
|
58 - 79%
|
[PMID 16461860]
|
| Anorexia nervosa
|
57 - 79%
|
[PMID 19828139]
|
| Asthma
|
30%
|
[PMID 16117840]
|
| Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
|
70%
|
[PMID 22833045]
|
| Autism
|
30 - 90%
|
[PMID 17033636]
|
| Bipolar disorder
|
70%
|
[PMID 14601036]
|
| Bladder cancer
|
7 - 31%
|
[PMID 21927616]
|
| Blood pressure, diastolic
|
49%
|
[PMID 19858476]
|
| Blood pressure, systolic
|
30%
|
[PMID 22479213]
|
| Body mass index
|
23 - 51%
|
[PMID 25383972, PMID 18271028]
|
| Bone mineral density
|
44 - 87%
|
[PMID 15750698, PMID 16025191]
|
| Breast cancer
|
25 - 56%
|
[PMID 11979442, PMID 2491011]
|
| Celiac disease
|
57 - 87%
|
[1]
|
| Cervical cancer
|
22%
|
[PMID 11979442]
|
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
|
76%
|
[PMID 20541380]
|
| Colon cancer
|
13%
|
[PMID 11979442]
|
| Coronary artery disease
|
49%
|
[PMID 15710764]
|
| Crohn's disease
|
53%
|
[PMID 3396969]
|
| Depression
|
50%
|
[PMID 15877306]
|
| Epilepsy
|
70 - 88%
|
[PMID 11325572]
|
| Eye color
|
98%
|
[PMID 9152135]
|
| Celiac disease
|
57 - 87%
|
[PMID 16354797]
|
| Gallstone disease
|
25%
|
[PMID 15747383]
|
| Glaucoma
|
36 - 57%
|
[PMID 14691154]
|
| Graves' disease
|
79%
|
[PMID 11158069]
|
| Hair curliness
|
85-95%
|
[PMID 19803779]
|
| Hangover
|
24-45%
|
[PMID 25098862]
|
| Heart disease
|
34 - 53%
|
[PMID 10892820]
|
| Height
|
55 - 81%
|
[PMID 25383972, PMID 18271028]
|
| Hypertension
|
30%
|
[PMID 15808811]
|
| Insomnia
|
48%
|
[PMID 22704400]
|
| Irritable bowel syndrome
|
"little"? or 44% for females?
|
[PMID 15929767, PMID 17008364]
|
| Leukemia
|
1%
|
[PMID 11979442]
|
| Longevity
|
26%
|
[PMID 8786073]
|
| Lung cancer
|
8%
|
[PMID 11979442]
|
| Lupus
|
44 - 66%
|
[PMID 17136562, PMID 3430520]
|
| Menarche, age at
|
50 - 70%
|
[PMID 17541737, PMID 17680356]
|
| Menopause, age at
|
47%
|
[PMID 19858476]
|
| Migraine
|
53%
|
[PMID 22678113]
|
| Nicotine dependence
|
60%
|
[PMID 17888884]
|
| Obesity
|
70%
|
[PMID 16987875]
|
| Osteoarthritis
|
30 - 37%
|
[PMID 12855031, PMID 19153142]
|
| Ovarian cancer
|
40%
|
[PMID 2491011]
|
| Parkinson's disease
|
25 - 30%
|
[PMID 21738487]
|
| Periodontitis
|
42%
|
[PMID 19648170]
|
| Polycystic ovary syndrome
|
72%
|
[PMID 16219714]
|
| Prostate cancer
|
42%
|
[PMID 12642065]
|
| Psoriasis
|
66%
|
[PMID 17958839]
|
| QT interval
|
34 - 50%
|
[PMID 17565224, PMID 11260226]
|
| Rheumatoid arthritis
|
55%
|
[PMID 18835879]
|
| Schizophrenia
|
81%
|
[PMID 14662550]
|
| Sciatica
|
20%
|
[PMID 2605032]
|
| Sexual orientation
|
60%
|
[PMID 11058483]
|
| Stomach cancer
|
1%
|
[PMID 11979442]
|
| Stroke
|
32%
|
[PMID 11872902]
|
| Testicular cancer
|
25%
|
[PMID 11979442]
|
| Thyroid cancer
|
53%
|
[PMID 11979442]
|
| Type-1 diabetes
|
88%
|
[PMID 12663480]
|
| Type-2 diabetes
|
26%
|
[PMID 10064092]
|
[PMID 25985137] Meta-analysis of the heritability of human traits based on fifty years of twin studies.
