Impact of Genetic Defects on Coronary Atherosclerosis among Turkish Cypriots.

BACKGROUND: The distribution of gene variants in the Turkish Cypriot population with coronary artery disease has not been investigated. In this study, we sought to research different genetic variants in the susceptibility to coronary artery disease and to identify possible associations between various clinical parameters and the genes involved in blood coagulation as well as glucose and lipid metabolism among the Turkish Cypriots and compared the results with the respective Turkish patients from Turkey. Methods: A total of 187 individuals with coronary artery disease, namely 87 Turkish Cypriot individuals from Northern Cyprus, and 100 Turkish patients from Turkey, were investigated. The presence of CAD was documented with coronary angiography. The genetic susceptibility to coronary artery disease in the cohorts was studied using the variants FV Leiden (G1691A), Factor V R2 mutation (FVR2)(H1299R), PTH (G20210A), FXIII (V34L), β-Fibrinogen (-455 G>A), PAI-1 (4G/5G), HPA1 (a/b), MTHFR [C677T] and [A1298C], ACE (I/D), Apo B (R3500Q), and Apo E, in addition to the well-known risk factors associated with coronary artery disease.

RESULTS: Age, male sex, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, triglycerides, HDL, and triglyceride/HDL ratio were significantly associated with (P < .05); LDL (P = .05) and total cholesterol (P = .08) was marginally associated with coronary artery disease in the Turkish Cypriot population. The mutations in the MTHFR [C677T] gene variant were marginally higher in the Turkish Cypriot cohort when compared with the Turkish patients from Turkey (P = .06). No significant direct association of any of the gene variants with coronary artery disease in the Turkish Cypriot cohort could be defined. Several of the genetic variants were associated indirectly with the risk factors for coronary artery disease in Turkish Cypriots. MTHFR [A1298C] was found to be marginally associated with low HDL cholesterol (P = .08). MTHFR [C677] wild-type allele was significantly associated with a decreased rate of high LDL cholesterol (P < .05). The HPA-1 a/b variant was significantly associated with an increased rate of high total cholesterol levels (P < .05). Conclusion: Turkish Cypriot patients with coronary artery disease may be more affected by secondary factors, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and sedentary life style when compared with genetic factors, which may be responsible for coronary artery disease.