The Association between Gene Polymorphisms of N~(5,10)-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase and Essential Hypertension in Patients of Ningxia Hui Nationality

Objective:To investigate the association between C667T point mutation of N5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and essential hypertension in patients of Ningxia Hui nationality. Methods:The study was performed in 146 patients with essential hypertensive (EH) and 112 normotensive (NT) control subjects. Blood samples of two groups were collected and then DNA was extracted. MTHFR gene polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results:The frequencies of three genotypes (CC, CT and TT) showed statistics differences between EH group and NT group (P 0.05). The frequency of genotype 677TT and T allele were significantly higher in patients of EH group than those of NT group (P 0.05). There was no significant difference in diastolic blood pressure between CC genotype group and CT+TT genotype group (P 0.05), but there were significantly higher systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure in CT+TT genotype group than those of CC genotype group (P 0.05). Binary stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that CT+TT genotype, female, body mass index (BMI), triacylglycerol (TG) and urea nitrogen (BUN) were independent risk factors for essential hypertension. Conclusion: There is a correlation between MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism and essential hypertension in patients of Ningxia Hui nationality. The T allele may be the susceptible gene of essential hypertension in Ningxia Hui nationality.