Variant rs2237892 of KCNQ1 is Potentially Associated with Hypertension and Macrovascular Complications in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in a Chinese Han Population

KCNQ1 has been identified as a susceptibility gene of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Asian populations through genome-wide association studies. However, studies on the association between gene polymorphism of KCNQ1 and T2DM complications remain unclear. To further analyze the association between different alleles at the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2237892 within KCNQ1 and TD2M and its complications, we conducted a case-control study in a Chinese Han population. The C allele of rs2237892 variant contributed to susceptibility to T2DM (odds ratio [OR], 1.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-1.75). Genotypes CT (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.24-3.15) and CC (OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.57-3.95) were associated with an increased risk of T2DM. Multivariate regression analysis was performed with adjustment of age, gender, and body mass index. We found that systolic blood pressure (P=0.015), prevalence of hypertension (P=0.037), and risk of macrovascular disease (OR, 2.10; CI, 1.00-4.45) were significantly higher in subjects with the CC genotype than in the combined population with genotype either CT or TT. Therefore, our data support that KCNQ1 is associated with an increased risk for T2DM and might contribute to the higher incidence of hypertension and macrovascular complications in patients with T2DM carrying the risk allele C though it needs further to be confirmed in a larger population.