The Y chromosome effect on blood pressure in two European populations

Higher blood pressure (BP) in males compared with females is well documented and is thought to be influenced in part by the Y chromosome. To examine whether there is an association between BP and a polymorphic HindIII biallelic marker in the nonrecombining region of the Y chromosome, we genotyped 155 males from a Polish study group and 762 males from a Scottish study group. We also tested for possible interaction between the Y chromosome and a mutation in the steroidogenic factor binding site of the aldosterone synthase gene by genotyping the same group from Scotland. There was no significant difference in age or body mass index between 2 Y chromosome genotypes in both study groups. Men with the HindIII(+) genotype had significantly higher systolic and diastolic pressures than those with the HindIII(-) genotype in both the Polish and Scottish studies. This difference between the genotypes was 5.27 mm Hg (P=0.0014) and 3.14 mm Hg (P=0.0005) for adjusted systolic BP and 2.6 mm Hg (P=0.0045) and 1.44 mm Hg (P=0.0084) for adjusted diastolic BP in the Polish and the Scottish studied, respectively. On binary logistic regression analysis, males with the HindIII(+)/TT SF1 genotype combination had an odds ratio for elevated BP of 3.92 (CI 1.21 to 12.68, P=0.023). Our results indicate that the Y chromosome harbors a locus or loci that contribute to BP variation in hypertensive and normotensive men. The polymorphism in the aldosterone synthase gene may interact with the Y chromosome to increase the odds of an individual's developing higher BP.