Variations of cardiovascular disease associated genes exhibit sex-dependent influence on human longevity

This article investigates the relationship between the polymorphic variatio ns in genes associated with cardiovascular disease and longevity in the Dan ish population. A new procedure that combines both demographic and the indi vidual genetic information in determining the relative risks of the observe d genetic variations is applied. The sex-dependent influences can be found by introducing sex-specific population survival and incorporating the risk of gene-sex interaction. Three genetic polymorphisms, angiotensinogen M/T23 5, blood coagulation factor VII (FVII) R/Q353 and FVII-323ins10, manifest s ignificant influences on survival in males, with reduced hazards of death f or carriers of the angiotensinogen M235 allele, the F VII Q353 allele, and the FVII-323P10 allele. The results show that some of these genotypes assoc iated with lower risk of CVD could also reduce the carrier's death rate and contribute to longevity. However, the presence of sex-dependent effects an d the fact that major CVD-associated genes failed to impose detrimental inf luence on longevity lead us to concur that the aging process is highly comp licated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.