PREVALENCE OF THE MUTATION C677-]T IN THE METHYLENE TETRAHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE GENE AMONG DISTINCT ETHNIC-GROUPS IN BRAZIL

Vascular disease is a serious public health problem in the industriali zed world, and is a frequent cause of death among the adult population of Brazil. Mild hyperhomocysteinemia has been identified as a risk fa ctor for arterial disease, venous thrombosis, and neural tube defects. Individuals homozygous for the thermolabile variant of methylenetetra hydrofolate reductase (MTHFR-T) are found in 5-15% of the general popu lation and have significantly elevated plasma homocysteine levels whic h represent one of the genetic risk factors for vascular diseases, We have analyzed the prevalence of individuals homozygous for the MTHFR-T in 327 subjects representing the three distinct ethnic groups in Braz il, The prevalence of homozygotes for the mutated allele MTHFR-T was h igh among persons of Caucasian descent (10%) and considerably lower am ong Black (1.45%) and Indians persons populations (1.2%). These data s uggest that screening for the MTHFR-T allele should help in identifyin g individuals with a high risk of vascular disease among populations w ith a heterogeneous background. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.