Sex-specific effects of ACE I/D and AGT-M235T on pulse pressure: The HyperGEN Study

Amy I. Lynch, Donna K. Arnett, James S. Pankow, Michael B. Miller, Kari E. North, John H. Eckfeldt, Steven C. Hunt, Dabeeru C. Rao, Luc Djoussé

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Evidence shows that an elevated pulse pressure (PP) may lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There is also evidence that PP is a sexually dimorphic trait, and that genetic factors influence inter-individual variation in PP. The aim of this project was to assess the genotype-by-sex interaction on PP in a sample of mostly hypertensive African American and White participants using candidate genes involved in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Subjects were participants in the HyperGEN Study, including men (43%) and women (57%) over the age of 55 years (mean age = 65). Candidate gene polymorphisms used were ACE insertion/deletion (1,789 subjects genotyped) and AGT-M235T (1,800 subjects genotyped). We employed linear regression methods to assess the genotype-by-sex interaction. For ACE, genotype-by-sex interaction on PP was detected (P = 0.04): the "D/ D" genotype predicted a 2.2 mmHg higher pulse pressure among women, but a 1.2 mmHg lower PP among men, compared to those with an "I" allele, after adjusting for age, weight, height, ethnicity, and antihypertension medication use. A similar interaction was found for systolic blood pressure. The genotype-by-sex interaction was consistent across ethnicity. The interaction was evident among those on antihypertensive medications (P = 0.05), but not among those not taking such medications (P = 0.55). In our analysis of AGT, no evidence of a genotype-by-sex interaction affecting PP, SBP, or DBP was detected. This evidence for a genotype-by-sex interaction helps our understanding of the complex genetic underpinnings of blood pressure phenotypes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)33-40
Number of pages8
JournalHuman Genetics
Volume122
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2007

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgments Supported in part by grants HL55673, HL54471, HL 54472, HL54473, HL54495, HL54496, HL54497, HL54509 HL 54515 and HL007972 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD, and grant M10RR0047-34 (GCRC) from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.

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