Angiotensin I -converting enzyme gene polymorphism in Chinese patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Objective To investigate the relationship of an insertion/deletion (I/D) po lymorphism of the angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE) gene to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients and the control subjects. Methods Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples and amplified by polym erase chain reaction (PCR). PCR primers flanked the polymorphic region in i ntro 16 of the ACE gene. Results OSAS patients had significantly higher frequencies of I/I genotype and insertion allele of the ACE gene as compared with the control subjects in Chinese population. The OSAS patients with I/I genotype had significantl y longer apnea time, lower minimum SaO2 and greater AHI than the OSAS patie nts with I/D genotype. Conclusion These results indicate that the I/I genotype and I allele are a risk factor for OSAS in Chinese.