Analysis of the distribution of erythrocyte sodium lithium countertransport in a sample representative of the general population

Abstract

Numerous studies of sodium‐lithium countertransport (Na‐Li CNT) have reported higher rates in essential hypertensives versus normotensive controls. We studied the distribution and the mode of inheritance of Na‐Li CNT using a sample of 238 unrelated individuals and a sample of 245 individuals in 50 pedigrees all sampled from the population at large. The distribution of Na‐Li CNT is continuous and bimodal. Our results indicate that there is a large genetic contribution to the distribution of Na‐Li CNT. The hypothesis that the effect that causes bimodality is transmitted from generation to generation is supported by the fit to these data of a restricted transmission model with τ2 = 0.749. We hypothesize that this deviation of τ2 from its Mendelian expectation may be attributable to heterogeneity in the etiology of the bimodality in the Na‐Li CNT distribution in the population at large.