The rs6817105 polymorphism on chromosome 4q25 is associated with the risk of atrial fibrillation in the Chinese Han population

OBJECTIVE: Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified rs6817105-a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on chromosome 4q25-to be associated with the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in a European-descent population. We recently demonstrated this association in a large cohort of Japanese ancestry. Our present study was designed to determine this association in the Chinese Han population. METHODS: This case-control study included 597 AF cases and 996 AF-free controls, and rs6817105 SNPs were genotyped using the TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated in logistic regression models. RESULTS: The genotype distribution of rs6817105-CC was significantly more frequent in the AF patients than in the controls (p=3.24×10-32). In our study, logistic regression analysis showed a strong association between rs6817105 and the risk of AF (additive model: OR=2.22, 95%CI=1.89-2.61, p=2.33×10-22; dominant model: OR=2.96, 95%CI: 2.16-4.07, p=2.03×10-11; recessive model: OR=2.83, 95%CI=2.27-3.54, p=4.00×10-20). Stratification analyses showed a borderline statistical difference between subgroups of age for the association of rs6817105 with AF risk (p=0.049). However, further interactive analysis indicated no significant interaction between genotype of rs6817105 and age (p=0.178). CONCLUSION: Our finding suggested that SNP rs6817105 may be associated with a high significant risk of AF in the Chinese Han population, although more replicative studies of larger sample size are needed to confirm this finding.