A case-control study provides evidence of association for a common SNP rs974819 in PDGFD to coronary heart disease and suggests a sex-dependent effect

Introduction: Peden et al. have revealed a significant association between four new risk loci and coronary heart disease (CHD) in Europeans and South Asians. The goal of this study is to evaluate the contribution of these genetic loci to CHD risk in Han Chinese. Methods: We recruited 161 CHD patients and 112 controls proved by angiography originated from Ningbo in the Eastern China, and performed a case-control association study of the four significant SNPs. Results: Among the four tested SNPs, we found a significant association of rs974819 in PDGFD gene with CHD (allele p = 0.04; OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.02 - 2.08) and the allele A/G of rs974819 shows significant difference in females (allele p = 0.04; OR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.01 - 3.31). A further meta-analysis showed that rs974819 of PDGFD gene was significantly associated with an increasing risk of CHD (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.05 - 1.11) in both Europeans and South Asians including Han Chinese. Conclusions: Our findings suggests that rs974819 of PDGFD is also a CHD risk factor in Han Chinese. In addition, it presents a sex-dependent genetic effect.