ADAM33 Gene Polymorphisms and Mortality. A Prospective Cohort Study

The ADAM33 gene is associated with the pathophysiology of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and atherosclerosis. In this study we investigated all-cause, COPD and cardiovascular mortality, in relation to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ADAM33 (Q_1, S_1, S_2, T_1 and T_2) that were genotyped in 1,390 subjects from the Vlagtwedde/Vlaardingen cohort. Participants were examined at entry in 1989/1990 and followed up till evaluation of the vital status on December 31(st), 2008. Using Cox proportional hazards regression we estimated the risk of the SNPs in relation to mortality, adjusting for gender, age, FEV1, height, place of residence and packyears of smoking. Additionally, we performed stratified analyses according to gender and smoking habits. After 18 years, 284 (20.4%) subjects had died (107 due to cardiovascular disease and 20 due to COPD). Individuals homozygous for the minor allele of SNP T_2 had an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality compared to wild types: hazard ratio 3.6 (95% confidence interval 2.0 to 6.7) and 3.4 (1.2 to 9.5) respectively. Individuals homozygous for the minor allele of S_1, S_2, T_2 or Q_1 had a significantly increased risk of COPD mortality. In stratified analyses the risk of all-cause mortality associated with SNP T_2 did not change: females 3.5 (1.5 to 8.3), males 3.1 (1.2 to 7.6), never smokers 3.8 (0.9 to 16.3), ever smokers 3.6 (1.8 to 7.2). This study shows for the first time that ADAM33 is a pleiotropic gene that is associated with all-cause, COPD and cardiovascular mortality, independent of potential confounders.