Interaction of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme Insertion-Deletion Polymorphism and Daily Salt Intake Influences Hypertension in Japanese Men

The contribution of angiotensin I-converting enzyme insertion-deletion polymorphism (ACE I/D) to salt-sensitivity hypertension has been extensively studied by means of salt-loading tests, but whether or not the interaction with daily salt intake affects blood pressure still remains to be clarified. We therefore conducted a cross-sectional study of 284 Japanese male workers (age range, 20-64 years) to examine the effect of ACE I/D genotype and daily salt intake on hypertension. Blood pressure was measured and the ACE I/D was identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Daily salt intake was calculated from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). In multivariate analyses, we explored the interaction of ACE I/D and salt intake by means of logistic regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. ACE I/D per se was not associated with blood pressure levels or hypertension. ACE I/D interacted with daily salt intake and correlated with hypertension (p for interaction = 0.047). In the ID+II genotype, hypertension was increased by high salt intake (p = 0.005), while in the DD genotype it was not (p = 0.257). The interaction was more prominent in the overweight group (p = 0.039) than in non-overweight group. In the overweight group, high salt intake induced a 10.5 mmHg higher diastolic blood pressure in the ID+II genotype than in the DD genotype (p = 0.042). Our results suggest that ACE I/D and daily salt intake constitute a gene-environment interaction, which may be further modulated by overweight.