Gene variants at FTO, 9p21, and 2q36.3 are age-independently associated with myocardial infarction in Czech men

Aim: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. This study aimed to confirm the effect of common putative CVD-associated gene variants (FTO rs17817449, KIF6 rs20455, 9p21 rs10757274 and 2q36.3 rs2943634) on CVD manifestation, and determine whether this effect differs between younger (<50 years) and older CVD patients. Methods: 1191 controls and 1889 MI patients were analyzed. All participants were Caucasian Czech males aged <65 years (532 were <50 years) who were examined at cardiology clinics in Prague, Czech Republic. Variants of FTO, 9p21, 2q36.3, and KIF-6 were genotyped using PCR-RFLP or TaqMan assay. Results: Variants of FTO (OR 1.48; 95% CI, 1.19-1.84 in a TT vs. GG comparison, p = 0.0005); 9p21 (OR 1.74; 95% CI, 1.41-2.14 in an AA vs. GG comparison, p = 0.0001); and 2836.3 (OR 134; 95%Cl, 1.09-1.65 in an AA vs. +C comparison, p = 0.006) were significantly associated with MI in the male Czech population. In contrast, genotype frequencies of KIF-6 (rs20455) were the same in patients and controls (P = 1.00). Nearly identical results were observed when a subset of young MI patients (N = 532, aged <50 years) was analyzed. Conclusion: We confirmed the importance of determining FTO, 9p21, and 2q36.3 variants as part of the genetic determination of MI risk in the Czech male population. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.