Association of the alpha-adducin polymorphism with blood pressure and risk of myocardial infarction

Genetic variation in adducin, a protein associated with the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, may be in part responsible for salt-sensitive hypertension. In the Netherlands, 560 men who survived a myocardial infarction and 646 men who had undergone an orthopaedic intervention participated in a case-control study. In men in this study, the alpha-adducin polymorphism was not associated with the risk of myocardial infarction either among those with or among those without a clinical history of hypertension. In a cross-sectional analysis of blood pressure data from the controls, the alpha-adducin polymorphism was associated neither with self-reported hypertension (OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.51-1.19) nor with mean levels of systolic or diastolic blood pressure. Additional studies in other populations are needed to assess the contribution of alpha-adducin to high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.