The C677T mutation of the methylenetetrahydrofolate late reductase gene isnot associated with the risk of coronary artery disease or venous thrombosis among Chinese in Taiwan

Objectives: We sought to investigate the association between the methylenet etrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T mutation and the risk of coron ary artery disease (CAD), myocardial infarction (MI) and venous thrombosis (VT) in a Chinese population in Taiwan, Methods: The subjects included 218 CAD patients, 107 VT patients, and their age- and sex-matched controls. DNA was extracted from the blood and genotypes were determined by polymerase c hain reaction, restriction mapping with HinfI and gel electrophoresis, Resu lts: The distribution of MTHFR genotypes was similar in the CAD cases and c ontrols; the genotype TT was present in 6.0% of CAD patients, as compared t o 6.9% of CAD control subjects (p = 0.165; odds ratio = 0.86; 95% confidenc e interval = 0.40-1.85). The frequency of the T allele was also similar in CAD cases and controls (25.5% vs. 24.8%; p = 0.788). There was no significa nt association between TT homozygosity and the risk of MI. The genotype dis tributions and the frequency of the T allele were also similar in VT cases and controls. Conclusions: Our data suggest that there is no association be tween the C677T mutation of the human MTHFR gene and the risk of CAD or VT among Chinese in Taiwan. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG. Basel.