A FTO variant and risk of acute coronary syndrome

The FTO gene plays an important role in the determination of body weight and BMI and it has been suspected of being associated with all-case mortality.

We have analyzed the FTO rs17817449 variant in consecutive 1092 male patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and in 1191 randomly selected Caucasian individuals (population controls).

The FTO variant was significantly associated with BMI both in controls (P<0.02) and ACS patients (P<0.01). In both groups, BMI was highest in GG homozygotes and lowest in TT homozygotes. There was a significant difference between the ACS patients and controls in the frequency of the FTO genotype GG (21.4% vs. 15.9%, P<0.005). FTO GG homozygotes had a significantly increased risk of ACS, compared with TT homozygotes which was independent of age and BMI (odds ratio 1.49, 95% confidence interval 1.16-1.93). The odds ratio of ACS patients for the GG genotype remained significant even after the exclusion of diabetics (100 controls and 339 ACS patients), with OR 1.32 (95% CI 1.01-1.72).

This study provides an evidence of an association between the FTO variant and risk of ACS in Caucasian males.