Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism in a cohort of coronary angiography patients

An association between a polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene and myocardial infarction (MI) in men has been previously report ed. The present study examines the association between ACE genotype, athero sclerosis, MI, hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors in Caucas ian men (n = 576) and women (n = 124) who have undergone coronary angiograp hy. Gene frequencies are also reported for African-American men (n = 56). G enotype determination was based on the presence (allele I) or absence (alle le D) of a 287 nucleotide Alu sequence in intron 16 of the ACE gene. Genoty pe frequencies for DD, ID and II were: 30.9, 47.7, 21.4% for Caucasian men: 28.2, 48.4, 23.4% for Caucasian women; and 30.4, 46.4, 23.2% for African-A merican men. There were no statistically significant associations between A CE genotype and number of plaques (;greater than or equal to 10% obstructio n), lipid variables, or body mass index (BMI) for Caucasian men. Caucasian women with the DD genotype had on average fewer plaques, but this was accou nted for by their younger ages. In Caucasian males, the DD genotype indepen dently contributed to the presence of hypertension (odds ratio = 1.8, 95% C I 1.1-2.9) after adjusting for age and BMI. In Caucasian males with total c holesterol levels less than 200 mg/dl (n = 237), the DD (odds ratio = 2.5, 95% CI 1.2-5.4) and ID genotypes (odds ratio = 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.3) were as sociated with a history of MI. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All r ights reserved.