Renin-angiotensin system gene polymorphisms and atrial fibrillation: a regression approach for the detection of gene-gene interactions in a large hospitalized population

Objectives: To test the association between renin-angiotensin system gene variants and atrial fibrillation (AF) using a regression approach.

Methods: A total of 1,236 consecutive patients (227 with AF and 1,009 with normal sinus rhythm as controls) were recruited. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene I/D polymorphism; T174M, M235T, G-6A, A-20C, G-152A and G-217A polymorphisms of the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene, and A1166C polymorphism of the angiotensin II type I receptor (AT1R) gene were genotyped. We used a regression approach based on a generalized linear model to evaluate haplotype effects and to detect gene-gene interactions by incorporating interaction terms in the model.

Results: In single-locus analyses, no locus was associated with AF. After adjustment for AF risk factors, we found significant differences in the global AGT gene haplotype profile (the global score statistic = 30.364, p = 0.001) and individual haplotype frequencies between AF patients and controls. Furthermore, significant 2-way gene-gene interactions between ACE I/D polymorphism and AGT gene haplotypes and between AT1R A1166C polymorphism and AGT gene haplotypes, and 3-way interaction between ACE I/D, AT1R A1166C and AGT gene haplotypes were detected.

Conclusions: These results are compatible with the concept of multilocus and multigene effects in determining the risk of complex diseases such as AF, which would be missed with conventional single-locus approaches.