Questions About Genetic Variation in 9p21 as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Risk

Abstract

Letters19 May 2009Questions About Genetic Variation in 9p21 as a Predictor of Cardiovascular RiskJeff Gulcher, MD, PhD and Kari Stefansson, MD, PhDJeff Gulcher, MD, PhDFrom deCODE Genetics, Reykjavik 110, Iceland.Search for more papers by this author and Kari Stefansson, MD, PhDFrom deCODE Genetics, Reykjavik 110, Iceland.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-150-10-200905190-00018 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Paynter and colleagues (1) showed that the widely replicated 9p21 genetic risk factor affected risk in the Women's Genome Health Study, largely independent of traditional risk factors. They were able to reliably measure this genetic marker years after patient recruitment because DNA is invariant, in contrast to such biomarkers as C-reactive protein (CRP). The power to detect improvement in cardiovascular event prediction by adding a new risk factor to traditional risk factors depends on the total number of events in the study. The Women's Genome Health Study recruited women of mean age 52 years who had low ...