Association of gene polymorphisms with coronary artery disease in low- or high-risk subjects defined by conventional risk factors.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to identify genes that confer susceptibility to coronary artery disease (CAD) in low- or high-risk men or women separately and thereby to assess the genetic risk of CAD in such individuals. BACKGROUND The prevention of CAD would be facilitated by the identification of genes that confer susceptibility to this condition independently in low- or high-risk individuals, as defined by conventional risk factors. METHODS The study population comprised 1661 unrelated Japanese individuals, including 1011 patients with CAD and 650 control subjects. Among all study subjects, 601 individuals (high-risk subjects) had hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolemia, and 1060 individuals (low-risk subjects) had none of these risk factors for CAD. The genotypes for 37 polymorphisms of 31 candidate genes were determined by a fluorescence- or colorimetry-based allele-specific DNA primer-probe assay system. RESULTS Multivariate logistic regression analysis, with adjustment for age, body mass index, and the prevalence of smoking and hyperuricemia, revealed that the -219G-->T polymorphism of the apolipoprotein E gene in low-risk men, the -1171/5A-->6A polymorphism of the stromelysin-1 gene in low-risk women, the 1019C-->T polymorphism of the connexin 37 gene in high-risk men, and the 3932T-->C polymorphism of the apolipoprotein E gene in high-risk women were significantly associated with CAD. A stepwise forward selection procedure revealed that the effects of these polymorphisms on CAD were statistically independent of age or conventional risk factors. CONCLUSIONS Genotyping of these polymorphisms may prove informative for assessment of the genetic risk of CAD in low- or high-risk men or women.