2000 Volume 23 Issue 5 Pages 407-411
To investigate the role of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene (ACE) insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphism in hypertensive patients with different degrees of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A case-control study was performed. One hundred seventy four Chinese subjects were divided into four groups depending on the severity of OSA as follows: 1) normal control group (NC, n=68), 2) isolated hypertension group (HT, n=45), 3) hypertensive patients with mild OSA group (MO, n=27), and 4) hypertensive patients with moderate to severe OSA group (MSO, n=34). The distribution of ACE gene I/D allele and genotypes were analyzed in the subject population, as was an OSA pedigree. The study showed that the frequency of ACE gene I/D polymorphism differed significantly among the four groups. The frequency of I allele and II genotype were significantly higher in the MSO group than in the other groups (p<0.05). The distribution of I allele and II genotype showed no significant difference between any of the other groups (p>0.05, respectively). Meanwhile the higher frequency of I allele and II genotype was observed in the OSA pedigree. The higher frequency of ACE gene I allele and II genotype were closely associated with the hyptertensive patients with MSO. The inherited factors played an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertensive patients with MSO. (Hypertens Res 2000; 23: 407-411)
