G20210A Prothrombin gene variant in Turkish patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease

G-->A substitution at position 20210A in the 3'-untranslated region in prothrombin gene is associated with raised plasma prothrombin. G20210A prothrombin variant has been associated with high prothrombin levels and an increased risk of venous thrombosis. To determine the prevalence of the G20210A prothrombin variant among Turkish and to evaluate the potential relevance of this variant to Turkish patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD).

We conducted a case-control study on 268 unrelated subjects who referred to the cardiology department of the university hospital for coronary angiography. One hundred-thirty seven patients with angiographically documented CAD and 131 subjects without angiographically documented CAD were studied to examine the association of the G20210A prothrombin variant with CAD. Blood samples from the patients and controls were analyzed for the G20210A prothrombin variant by DNA analysis, using polimeraz chain reaction.

G20210A prothrombin variant was found in 6 of 137 (4.4%) patients with CAD and 1 of 131 (0.8%) in control subjects (p = 0.064). There were no significant differences in terms of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, sex and family history of CAD with and without the G20210A prothrombin variant in the patient group.

In agreement with the results of recent meta-analyses, our data from northeast Anatolia show a 5-fold higher prevalence of the G20210A prothrombin variant among the patients with angiographically-documented CAD when compared with those without angiographic signs of significant CAD and its variant cannot be considered as a risk factor for CAD in this region.