A CETP polymorphism improves the diagnostic power of clinical examination in patients with cardiovascular disease

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Genetics
• Atherosclerosis Research

Background:

• Atherosclerosis leads to severe complications like myocardial infarction and stroke, necessitating improved risk prediction.
• Current clinical methods for identifying patients at high risk for complicated atherosclerosis require enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of molecular tests, specifically single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in improving the early identification of patients with active atherosclerosis.
• To assess whether common SNPs can enhance the predictive power of clinical phenotyping for cardiovascular events.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 269 patients was analyzed, with 57 individuals having a history of cardiovascular events and 57 matched controls without events.
• Nine common SNPs associated with cardiovascular disease were tested for their association with cardiovascular events.
• The predictive value of clinical examination alone and in combination with the CETPrs708272 polymorphism was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Main Results:

• One common SNP, CETPrs708272, was found to be significantly associated with cardiovascular events (p = 0.02).
• The inclusion of CETPrs708272 improved the area under the ROC curve from 0.627 (clinical examination alone) to 0.672 (p = 0.002).
• This suggests that the allele number for CETPrs708272 enhances the discrimination between active and inactive atherosclerosis.

Conclusions:

• Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with a significant impact on individual cardiovascular risk, such as CETPrs708272, can aid in predicting an active, symptomatic course of atherosclerosis.
• Molecular testing for specific SNPs may offer a valuable adjunct to clinical assessment for refining cardiovascular risk prediction.