Is the frequency of the ACE deletion polymorphism increased in African-Americans with hypertension compared to those with normal blood pressure?
The ACE deletion polymorphism is associated with a higher frequency of hypertension in African-Americans, suggesting a potential genetic contribution to hypertension risk in this population.
In white populations, a deletion polymorphism in the gene for angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) appears to be associated with increased risk for myocardial infarction but not for hypertension. In a population-association study in African-Americans, we compared the frequency of the ACE deletion polymorphism in subjects with hypertension versus those with normal blood pressure. The frequency of the ACE deletion allele was greater in African-Americans with hypertension than in those with normal blood pressure (P < 0.05). These findings raise the possibility that in some patient subgroups, sequence variation in or near the ACE gene may contribute to the risk for hypertension.
Duru et al. (Mon,) studied this question.