OBJECTIVE:

The objective was to examine the association of 5 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the adiponectin locus with risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men and women.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES:

We genotyped five common SNPs in the adiponectin gene (rs266729, -11365C>G; rs822395, -4034A>C; rs822396, -3964A>G; rs2241766, +45T>G; and rs1501299, +276G>T) in men (Health Professionals Follow-up Study) and women (Nurses' Health Study) in a nested case control setting. Among participants free of cardiovascular disease at baseline, 266 men and 249 women developed non-fatal myocardial infarction or fatal CHD during 6 and 8 years of follow-up, respectively. In addition, 564 men had coronary artery bypass graft surgery or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Using risk set sampling, controls were selected 2:1 matched on age, smoking, and date of blood draw.

RESULTS:

The -4034CC genotype was related to an increased risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction or fatal CHD compared with the AA genotype [relative risk (RR), men, 1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.99 to 2.89; women, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.20 to 3.49); however, this genotype was not related to risk of coronary artery bypass graft surgery or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty or to plasma adiponectin levels. Other SNPs or haplotypes defined by the 5 SNPs were not consistently related to risk of CHD in men and women or to plasma adiponectin levels.

DISCUSSION:

Our study does not support the hypothesis that these 5 common SNPs in the adiponectin gene play an important role in the development of CHD among men and women, although we cannot exclude an association between the -4034CC genotype and risk of CHD.