Association Study Between Coronary Artery Disease and rs1333049 Polymorphism at 9p21.3 Locus in Italian Population

In this study, we verify the association between the rs1333049 single nucleotide polymorphism (9p21.3) within CDKN2A-CDKN2B and coronary artery disease (CAD) in an Italian population. We replicated rs1333049_G allele association with a significantly reduced risk of CAD (OR = 0.816; 95% confidence interval [0.705-0.945]; p = 0.0065) in 711 CAD patients and 755 normal healthy individuals. This effect is maintained even stratifying patients by gender and by risk factors. A significant association was found with age of CAD onset. Interestingly, we found a protective trend of association between the rs1333049_G allele and peripheral artery disease, a progressive atherosclerotic condition in which plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to the head, organs, and limbs (OR = 0.724; 95% CI [0.520-1.007]; p = 0.054). No genotype-phenotype association was found with more severe CAD clinical parameters. If certain genetic factors predispose individuals to adverse outcomes, the knowledge of a patient's genotype may influence clinical management.