THURSDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Your risk of developing
metabolic syndrome -- a group of factors linked to heart disease
and diabetes -- increases if you have five common gene variations,
researchers say.
But one additional variant may still protect you from the
condition, they add.
People with metabolic syndrome run four times the risk of heart
disease and seven times the risk of diabetes as those without the
condition. Metabolic syndrome is usually found in people with three
of these symptoms: abdominal obesity, high blood triglyceride
levels, lower levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, elevated blood
pressure and elevated fasting blood glucose.
According to the June issue of
Human Molecular Genetics, nutrition researchers at
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found the
variations on the CD36 gene, located in a part of chromosome 7
previously associated with metabolic syndrome in other studies.
This linkage is important, because as the population of obese
adults continues to grow in the United States, they become
susceptible to problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Better
understanding of associations between obesity, the CD36 gene and
disease risk may led to earlier identification and intervention for
people susceptible to metabolic syndrome, the team said.
The DNA studied came from more than 2,000 African-Americans
because variations in the gene are more common in these
individuals; however, the researchers expect their discovery will
apply to other populations.
The researchers also found that many variants affected blood
levels of HDL cholesterol. They are examining how the relationship
between CD36 and HDL cholesterol works to determine whether the HDL
molecule is being changed by the products of the variants.
More information
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more
about
metabolic syndrome.
