Platelet glycoprotein IIb polymorphism, traditional risk factors and non-fatal myocardial infarction in young women

Several platelet glycoprotein polymorphisms have been associated with an in creased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in studies that included predomi nantly men. In a population-based sample of 68 Caucasian women <45 years ol d with non-fatal MI and 346 demographically similar control subjects, we fo und an increased risk of MI among women who possessed at Least one copy of the glycoprotein IIb Ser(843) allele compared with those lacking the Ser(84 3) allele (odds ratio 1.85: 95% confidence interval = 1.03-3.33). The incre ased risk was present only in subgroups of women who smoked cigarettes, had hypercholesterolaemia or who had a family history of early onset MI. The S er(843) variant of glycoprotein IIb may be associated with an increased ris k of MI in young women with other cardiovascular risk factors. Additional s tudies involving larger numbers of subjects are needed to confirm this prel iminary finding.