PMID: 18712159Aug 21, 2008Paper

Relationships between blood pressure, polymorphism of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), body composition and biochemical characteristics in elderly Slovaks

Anthropologischer Anzeiger; Bericht über die biologisch-anthropologische Literatur
Daniela SivákováPavel Blazícek

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that several specific environmental factors and candidate genes influence the human variation in blood pressure. The aim of this study was to investigate variables associated with blood pressure; with a particular emphasis on the differences in insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), the body composition and the recognized risk factors for atherosclerosis among elderly males and females. A total of 374 participants (174 males and 200 females) aged from 60 to 90 years were recruited from different parts of Slovakia. The elderly were not bed-ridden, nor mentally impaired, they were able to manage their daily activities by themselves. The ACE I/D polymorphism was determined by PCR amplification of the ACE gene sequence. Body composition variables were obtained by bioelectrical impedance analysis, using the BIA 101 soft tissue-body impedance analyzer (Akern, S.r.l.). The subjects were determined to be hypertensive (blood pressure > or = 140/90 mm Hg) or normotensive (blood pressure < or = 140/90 mm Hg ). These two subgroups of males and females did not differ significantly in their mean ages. As expected, the hypertensive subjects of both sexe...Continue Reading

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