Very tall or very short people tend to run into medical issues throughout their lives—most of which cannot be addressed until after they have reached their full height, whatever it may be. Now, a team of UK researchers has completed the largest ever study of genetic variants that influence height, possibly allowing pediatricians to spot medical issues sooner.

The study analyzed data from 5.4 million people and uncovered 12,000 genetic variants influencing height.

“Eighty percent of height differences between people are determined by genetic factors,” said study author Loic Yengo from University of Queensland. “The 12,000 variants that we found explain 40 percent of height differences, meaning we’ve opened the door for DNA to be used to predict height more accurately than ever before.”

The size of this study was particularly important. In smaller studies, height findings appeared scattered in the genome but the huge sample size in this study meant that, for the first time, researchers were able to see height-associated variants cluster, particularly near genes involved in skeletal growth disorders.

Still, the study included more than one million people of non-European descent, which is higher than usual for a genome-wide association study.

“There is a growing number of worldwide initiatives to collect more diverse genetic data because it is critical to widen the benefit of genetic studies to all populations,” said Yengo.

The team now plans to dive deeper to identify the remaining genetic factors for height.

“These other factors will be harder to find as they each have a lesser effect and we may need at least 20 million samples to complete that herculean task,” concluded Yengo.

The height study also paves the way for research into other traits and diseases controlled by genes.

Information provided by University of Queensland.

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