General Population Control Group Research Articles

One-Year Period Prevalence of Oral Aphthous Ulcers and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Behçet's Disease.

The aim of this study was to investigate the 1-year period prevalence of oral aphthous ulcers (OAUs) and their association with oral health-related quality of life (OHQOL) in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) and in the general population. In this cross-sectional study, 675 patients with Behçet's disease (BD group) and 1,097 males and females in the Japanese general population (control group) completed both questionnaires on their OAU status during the prior year and the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). In the BD group, 84% of patients reported experiencing an OAU during the previous year, and the mean number of OAUs/year was 13. In the control group, 31% of individuals experienced an OAU during the previous year, and the mean number of OAUs/year was one. Multivariate analysis indicated that both BD patients (OR, 6.2; 95% CI, 4.8–8.0) and controls (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 2.0–3.5) who had OAUs at least twice per year were more likely to have GOHAI scores below the norm than were controls who had fewer than two OAUs per year. The association between HLA-B∗51 and OAUs remains unknown. The presence of OAUs has a negative effect on the OHQOL of patients with BD.

Copy number variation of the antimicrobial-gene, defensin beta 4, is associated with susceptibility to cervical cancer

The aim of this study was to investigate association between copy number variation of the defensin beta 4 gene (DEFB4) and susceptibility to cervical cancer in a population at high risk of persistent oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The study subjects comprised 204 women with cervical cancer, a population having a high risk of persistent oncogenic HPV infection (cervical cancer group), and 200 healthy women from the general population (control group). Copy number variation of DEFB4 in each test sample was determined by relative quantitation using the comparative CT ((ΔΔ)CT) method. Differences between the two groups were evaluated. The median DEFB4 copy number in the cervical cancer group was four and in the control group was five (P=2.77e-4, t-test). The odds ratio of cervical cancer in individuals with four DEFB4 copies or less was higher (odds ratio 2.02; 95% confidence interval odds ratio 1.36-3.02), compared with that in individuals with five or more copies (odds ratio 0.49; 95% confidence interval odds ratio 0.33-0.74). We found copy number variation of DEFB4 was a host genetic factor conferring susceptibility to cervical cancer. A lower DEFB4 copy number was associated with susceptibility to cervical cancer.

Survivin promoter polymorphisms and autoantibodies in endometriosis

Expression of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis, is increased in endometriotic lesions and probably favors the survival of endometrial fragments in the peritoneal cavity. The aim of this study was to evaluate associations between survivin promoter polymorphisms and the risk of endometriosis, as well as to compare the immunoreactivity to survivin in sera of patients with and without endometriosis. We studied 149 women with endometriosis, 196 fertile women from the general population (control group A) and 47 women who had undergone diagnostic laparoscopy and had no evidence of endometriosis (control group B). There were no significant differences in the genotypic distribution of the survivin gene promoter region −241C/T, −235G/A and −31G/C single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) between endometriosis patients and the two control groups. In addition, also median anti-survivin autoantibody levels were similar among patients and controls (group B). However, anti-survivin antibody concentrations seemed to be influenced by cigarette smoking, being significantly lower in sera of actively smoking women compared to non-smokers (median OD: 0.019 vs. 0.155, respectively, P<0.001), and by the −235G/A SNP, as A allele carriers were significantly more frequent among women with a high antibody level (OD≥2.0) compared to those with lower concentrations (OD<2.0) (23.1% vs. 4.1%, respectively, P=0.008). Based on these results, we conclude that survivin promoter polymorphisms are not associated with susceptibility to endometriosis in the Estonian population, and though the expression of survivin is increased in endometriotic lesions, autoimmune reactivity against it is similar in women with and without the disease.

Psychological Factors Influence the Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Author's Reply

TO THE EDITOR: We appreciate the interest and comments1 on our paper,2 which was published in the July 2012 issue of this Journal. The close correlation between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms and psychological factors is well known, but this is the first study to show the relationship between typical GERD symptoms and psychological factors in patients with erosive esophagitis.3,4 You suggested in first point that the significant difference in the scores of somatization, obsessive-compulsive behavior and phobic anxiety might be rather statistically different because we did not investigate the scores of Symptom Checklist 90-Revision (SCL-90-R) in general population. We did not have a control group of general population in this study, but the SCL-90-R values of normal population are well established by previous studies.5,6 Although the absolute values of somatization, obsessive-compulsive behavior and phobic anxiety were relatively not high in the symptomatic erosive reflux disease group, the scores of the symptomatic group were higher than the scores of the asymptomatic group and the results were statistically significant. Nevertheless, if we had enrolled a control group of general population, we might have got a more accurate result. In your second point, you indicated that it is unclear whether the psychological dimensions occur before the reflux symptoms and play an important role in the development of the GERD symptoms. We completely agree that it is important to clarify whether the psychological diseases are a consequence of the reflux symptoms or not. As you pointed out, it can be helpful to reanalyze the SCL-90-R data before and after proton pump inhibitor treatment. However, we will have many difficulties for interpretation of the results because of various internal and external factors such as patient compliance, proton pump inhibitor refractory cases and drug side effects.

971PD - Functional -413 a > T Polymorphism in Hmox1 Gene Is Associated with the Clinical Outcome of Ovarian Cancer Patients Treated with Paclitaxel/Platinum Analogue

ABSTRACT Introduction Heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) is a key enzyme involved in the heme metabolism. HMOX1 expression may be induced by oxidative stress and cytokines, and there is increasing evidence that it may exert cytoprotective effects and facilitate survival and growth of some tumor cells. Aim: The aim of our study was to analyze whether clinical outcome of ovarian cancer patients subjected to standard therapeutic procedures may be associated with the functional -413A > T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the promoter of HMOX1 gene. Methods The study included 135 patients (median age, 54 years; 95% CI, 39-69) with stage I-IV epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent cytoreductive surgery followed by standard paclitaxel/platinum analogue chemotherapy. Patients DNA was routinely isolated from the peripheral blood and -413A > T SNP was genotyped using specific SNP Genotyping Assay (Applied Biosystems). Results The respective frequencies of -413A > T SNP AA, AT and TT genotypes within the patients' group were 34.1% (46/135), 46.7% (63/135) and 19.3% (26/135) and were similar to distribution within the general population control group. Kaplan-Meier analysis has revealed that AA genotype was associated with significantly longer progression free survival time. The median progression free survival time was 22.2 months in AA harboring patients and 14.5 months in patients with AT + TT genotype (p = 0.033 by log-rank test). AA genotype was also significantly associated with longer overall survival time. Three-year overall survival in AA and AT + TT group was 77.9% and 52.5%, respectively (p = 0.014). Conclusions The results of our study show for the first time that response to the first line treatment and clinical outcome of ovarian cancer patients with standard paclitaxel/platinum analogue chemotherapy might be associated with functional -413A > T SNP in the HMOX1 gene. This finding may be of practical importance for prognostication and may suggest that HMOX-1 is a potential target for a supportive clinical intervention. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

HIV and ageing

HIV and ageing

Health‐related quality of life among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The objective was to quantify the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and identify specific disabilities for remediation. Two types of subjects were included: ALL patients 5 plus years old in a multi-center clinical trial and general population control groups. Patients were assessed during all four major phases of active treatment and approximately 2 years after treatment. Health status and HRQL were measured using HEALTH UTILITIES INDEX® (HUI®) Mark 2 (HUI2) and Mark 3 (HUI3). HRQL scores were used to calculate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Excess disability rates identified attributes for remediation. HUI assessments (n = 749) were collected during the five phases. Mean HRQL increased from induction through the post-treatment phase (P < 0.001). There were no significant demographic or treatment effects on HRQL, except for type of asparaginase during continuation therapy (P = 0.005 for HUI2 and P = 0.007 for HUI3). Differences in mean HRQL scores between patients and controls were important (P < 0.001) during the active treatment phases but not during the post-treatment phase. Relative to controls, patients lost approximately 0.2 QALYs during active treatment. Disability was evident in mobility/ambulation, emotion, self-care and pain, and declined over time. Patients with ALL experienced important but declining deficits in HRQL during active treatment phases: Equivalent to losing approximately 2 months of life in perfect health. HRQL within the 2-years post-treatment phase was similar to controls. The policy challenge is to develop new treatment protocols producing fewer disabilities in mobility/ambulation, emotion, self-care, and pain without compromising survival.

Safety of antipsychotics in people with intellectual disability

Despite frequent use, little is known about the metabolic and endocrine side-effects of antipsychotics in individuals with intellectual disability. To compare indices of obesity, glucose, lipids and prolactin between antipsychotic-treated and antipsychotic-naive individuals with intellectual disability and also between participants with intellectual disability and controls from the general population. Observational study comparing 138 antipsychotic-treated and 64 antipsychotic-naive participants with intellectual disability in one National Health Service trust with general population controls. Antipsychotic treatment comprised: risperidone 48%,olanzapine 18%, thioxanthenes 10%, other 24%; monotherapy 95% of participants; mean treatment duration 8 years;median daily chlorpromazine equivalent dose 108 mg(range 16–667). Metabolic indices were the same or more favourable in the intellectual disability group than the general population control group but overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes were more prevalent in the women in the intellectual disability group than the control group. Metabolic indices were similar, statistically or clinically, between the antipsychotic-treated and the antipsychotic-naive groups but there was a non-significant trend towards a higher rate of type 2 diabetes in the antipsychotic group. A total of 100%and 70% of participants on amisulpride/sulpiride and risperidone respectively had hyperprolactinaemia, with secondary hypogonadism in 77% and 4% of affected women and men. Antipsychotics, on average, did not increase metabolic risk,although the existence of a susceptible subgroup at risk of diabetes cannot be excluded. Some antipsychotics induced hyperprolactinaemic hypogonadism, requiring active management. However, our findings suggest that antipsychotics at the low doses routinely prescribed for people with intellectual disability are generally safe in relation to metabolic adverse effects, even if efficacy remains poorly defined.

Emotion processing and regulation in women with morbid obesity who apply for bariatric surgery

Emotional eating, the tendency to eat when experiencing negative affect, is prevalent in morbid obesity and may indicate that ways to deal with emotions are disturbed. Our aim was to compare emotion processing and regulation between 102 women with morbid obesity who apply for bariatric surgery and 102 women from the general population (control group) and to examine in the group with morbid obesity the association of emotion processing and regulation with emotional eating. The group with morbid obesity reported higher scores on difficulty identifying feelings (alexithymia, p = 0.002) and suppression of emotions (p = 0.003) than the control group. In the women with morbid obesity, more negative affect and a higher difficulty identifying feelings were correlated with more emotional eating (r = 0.36 and r = 0.35, p < 0.001). Our study suggests that negative emotions and unhealthy emotion processing may play a role in emotional eating, and it indicates the possible relevance of emotion processing and emotional regulation as initiating or perpetuating mechanisms in morbid obesity.

Screening families of patients with premature coronary heart disease to identify avoidable cardiovascular risk: a cross-sectional study of family members and a general population comparison group

BackgroundPrimary prevention should be targeted at individuals with high global cardiovascular risk, but research is lacking on how best to identify such individuals in the general population. Family history is a good proxy measure of global risk and may provide an efficient mechanism for identifying high risk individuals. The aim was to test the feasibility of using patients with premature cardiovascular disease to recruit family members as a means of identifying and screening high-risk individuals.FindingsWe recruited family members of 50 patients attending a cardiology clinic for premature coronary heart disease (CHD). We compared their cardiovascular risk with a general population control group, and determined their perception of their risk and current level of screening. 103 (36%) family members attended screening (27 siblings, 48 adult offspring and 28 partners). Five (5%) had prevalent CHD. A significantly higher percentage had an ASSIGN risk score >20% compared with the general population (13% versus 2%, p < 0.001). Only 37% of family members were aware they were at increased risk and only 50% had had their blood pressure and serum cholesterol level checked in the previous three years.ConclusionsPatients attending hospital for premature CHD provide a mechanism to contact family members and this can identify individuals with a high global risk who are not currently screened.

Dieting to win or to be thin? A study of dieting and disordered eating among adolescent elite athletes and non-athlete controls

Objective:To examine the prevalence of dieting, reasons for dieting and prevalence of disordered eating among adolescent elite athletes and age-matched controls, and to examine the differences between athletes competing in...

Polymorphisms of FAS and FAS ligand genes in preeclamptic women

Objectives This study investigated the influence that Fas and Fas ligand gene polymorphisms might have on preeclampsia. The pathogenesis of preeclampsia is still enigmatic and several studies have proposed that it may, in part, be determined by genetic susceptibility. Therefore, the identification of a gene polymorphism associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia might well represent a useful tool in the identification of at risk pregnant women enabling the setup of preventive therapy. Apoptosis has also been implied in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and since Fas and Fas ligand are the main apoptotic pathway members, they may represent candidate genes involved in the development of preeclampsia. A polymorphism at the 670 position (A–G) in the Fas gene has been found more frequently in Hungarian women with preeclampsia. Study design The study cohort was a group of 50 women with preeclampsia and 142 healthy control subjects from the general Italian population. They were studied, by RFLP analysis, to validate the role that the 670 G Fas gene polymorphism plays in preeclampsia, and to evaluate the Fas ligand IVS2nt 124 G polymorphism. The Fisher's exact test was used to compute the statistical difference between groups. Results The presence of the 670 G Fas gene variant was observed in 42 preeclamptic patients (84%) and 96 members of the general population control group (67.6%) ( p = 0.029). Regarding the Fas ligand gene, the IVS2nt 124 G variant was present in 14 preeclamptic patients (28%) and in 47 of the general population control subjects (33.1%) ( p = 0.6). Conclusions The present study validated the hypothesis that the Fas 670 G variant may have an influencing role in preeclampsia.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/5G polymorphism and susceptibility to endometriosis in the Italian population

Objectives Some controversy exists for the potential association of the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene polymorphism 4G/5G and susceptibility to endometriosis. To clarify this issue, we have examined the prevalence of this polymorphism in a case–control study in the Italian population. Study design The PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism was evaluated in n = 368 reproductive year aged Caucasian women who underwent gynaecological laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain, infertility, ovarian cysts and myomas. A second group of controls included n = 329 normal subjects. Results The 697 women enrolled were divided as follows: the endometriosis group ( n = 204), the gynaecological control group ( n = 164) and the general population control group ( n = 329). No statistical significant differences emerged between endometriosis patients and gynaecological controls with regard to the allele frequencies and co-dominant and dominant models of genotype distribution. A borderline statistical difference was only observed for the recessive model of inheritance in which, contrary to previous findings, the PAI-1 4G/4G genotype seems to be less linked to the disease development. Conclusion The findings reported herein do not support the previously reported data indicating a greater susceptibility to endometriosis in patients harbouring the PAI-1 4G/5G and 4G/4G genotypes and exclude a significant role of polymorphism in endometriosis development.

Temperament and Character Dimensions in Patients With Schizophrenia, Relatives, and Controls

Studies of patients with schizophrenia or schizophrenia spectrum disorders and general population control groups consistently show differences regarding personality dimensions. However, the profile of personality dimensions in first-degree relatives of those patients is not well understood. We used Temperament and Character Inventory to explore personality dimensions in 61 clinically stable patients with schizophrenia or schizophrenia spectrum disorders, 59 of their first-degree relatives, and 64 healthy controls. Patients scored significantly higher than controls in harm avoidance and self-transcendence and lower in self-directedness and cooperativeness. First-degree relatives showed a tendency to lower novelty seeking and self-transcendence than controls. Interpretations of these findings include the possibility that lower novelty seeking and lower self-transcendence provide a protective influence in the relatives. Further studies are needed to go into this issue in greater depth.

First Experience in Quality of Life Analysis After Bariatric Surgery

First Experience in Quality of Life Analysis After Bariatric Surgery Introduction. The prevalence of obesity has increased markedly in the past 20 years therefore, bariatric surgery plays an important role in obesity treatment. Aim of the study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and it influence on patients' quality of life (QOL) in the management of morbid obesity. Materials and methods. 18 patients with morbid obesity underwent LAGB procedure at the Paul Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia. Data collected were: age, sex, weight, height and operation time, body mass index (BMI), excessive body weight (EBW) and comorbidities. Patients fulfilled general Short Form Health Survey with 36 questions before operation (a), 6 month (b) and 12 month (c) after operation. License was acquired for SF-36v2® use in the study. Results. The mean ± SD age of patients was 42.5 ± 11.8 years (25-63) with 83.3% of them female. The mean ± SD weight was 133.7 ± 20.3 kg (104-176), mean ± SD height 168.7 ± 9.4 cm (155-189) and mean BMI 46.2 ± 6.6 kg/m2 (36.8-58.8). The mean ± SD weight at 6 month follow up was 113.5 ± 17.8 kg (p=0.001). The postoperative mean BMI at 6 month follow up was 39.32 ± 6.1 kg/m2 (p=0.001). The mean percentage of excessive body weight (EBW) loss at 6 months was 30.4%. QOL life was higher after operation (b, c) comparing to preoperative data (a), but there were no statistically significant difference in any of the scales Conclusions. The efficacy of LAGB surgery in long-term is still uncertain, but our early results are comparable to other series. To determine the true efficacy of LAGB in weight control and impact on QOL, a longer follow-up period is necessary, more cases to analyze and data from control group of general population. Our findings suggest that life quality questionnaire SF-36v2® is good tool to measure patient's quality of life before and after operation, to discuss effectiveness of operations techniques and to observe quality of life dynamics.

Family caregiver quality of life in multiple sclerosis among Kuwaitis: a controlled study

BackgroundResearch interest in the quality of life (QOL) of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been spurred by the need to broaden outcome measures. Far less of this interest has been directed at the family caregivers, who bear most of the burden of care. The objectives of the study were: First, to compare the subjective QOL of family caregivers of persons with relapsing remitting and progressive MS, with those of a matched general population sample and caregivers of diabetes and psychiatric patients. Second, to assess the relationship of QOL with caregiver attitudes to MS and patient's variables.MethodsConsecutive MS clinic attendees were assessed with the 26 – item WHOQOL Instrument, and for depression and disability. Similarly, caregivers independently rated their own QOL as well as their impression of patients' QOL and attitudes to patients' illness.ResultsThe 170 caregivers, mean age 35.7 years, had no significant diagnostic differences in QOL domain scores and attitudes to MS. Caregivers had significantly lower QOL than the general population control group for five out of six domains and the general facet (P < 0.01), but higher QOL than the patients. When the scores were corrected for patients' depression and disability, caregivers had similar QOL with the general population group for four domains. Using corrected scores, MS caregivers had lower scores than diabetic and psychiatric caregivers in the physical, psychological and social relations domains. Majority expressed negative attitudes to MS. Caregiver QOL was more affected by their fear of having MS than their feelings about the illness and caregiving role. Caregiver attitudes had mostly no significant impact on their proxy ratings of patients' QOL. The significant predictor of caregivers' overall QOL was their impression of patients' QOL.ConclusionCaregivers need specific attention if they are less educated, unemployed, afraid of having MS and caring for patients with longer duration of illness and less education. In particular, attention to patients' depression and disability could improve caregivers' QOL. Caregivers need specific programs to address fear of having MS, negative attitudes to illness and their unmet needs.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Seropositivity Among Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: A Preliminary Study

The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) seropositivity in patients undergoing bariatric surgery with that of the general population. H. pylori serologies, tested by ELISA, were collected on 240 morbidly obese patients seen at the Cleveland Clinic Florida and on 2444 randomly selected patients seen at the Cleveland Clinic Health System from 2003-2005. H. pylori prevalence was 61.3% in the bariatric surgery group versus 48.2% in the general population control group (p < 0.001). Bariatric patients had a 1.7-fold increased likelihood of having HP when compared with controls (95% CI = 1.3-2.2). Age over 35 years was an independent risk factor for HP seropositivity (p < 0.01) in both the bariatric and control groups. There was no association found between body mass index and seropositivity within the bariatric group. There was no significant association between seropositivity and gender (p = 0.776). However, there was a significant association between seropositivity and race (p < 0.01). African-Americans had four times more (OR = 4.05) probability of having HP seropositivity than Caucasians (p < 0.01). Hispanics had almost three times (OR = 2.6) more probability of having HP seropositivity than Caucasians (p < 0.01). The prevalence of HP seropositivity among bariatric patients is significantly higher than the general population control group.

A Critical Appraisal of the Scientific Basis of Commercial Genomic Profiles Used to Assess Health Risks and Personalize Health Interventions

Predictive genomic profiling used to produce personalized nutrition and other lifestyle health recommendations is currently offered directly to consumers. By examining previous meta-analyses and HuGE reviews, we assessed the scientific evidence supporting the purported gene-disease associations for genes included in genomic profiles offered online. We identified seven companies that offer predictive genomic profiling. We searched PubMed for meta-analyses and HuGE reviews of studies of gene-disease associations published from 2000 through June 2007 in which the genotypes of people with a disease were compared with those of a healthy or general-population control group. The seven companies tested at least 69 different polymorphisms in 56 genes. Of the 56 genes tested, 24 (43%) were not reviewed in meta-analyses. For the remaining 32 genes, we found 260 meta-analyses that examined 160 unique polymorphism-disease associations, of which only 60 (38%) were found to be statistically significant. Even the 60 significant associations, which involved 29 different polymorphisms and 28 different diseases, were generally modest, with synthetic odds ratios ranging from 0.54 to 0.88 for protective variants and from 1.04 to 3.2 for risk variants. Furthermore, genes in cardiogenomic profiles were more frequently associated with noncardiovascular diseases than with cardiovascular diseases, and though two of the five genes of the osteogenomic profiles did show significant associations with disease, the associations were not with bone diseases. There is insufficient scientific evidence to conclude that genomic profiles are useful in measuring genetic risk for common diseases or in developing personalized diet and lifestyle recommendations for disease prevention.

The ‘Reading the Mind in Films’ Task [Child Version]: Complex Emotion and Mental State Recognition in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Conditions

Children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have difficulties recognizing others' emotions. Research has mostly focused on basic emotion recognition, devoid of context. This study reports the results of a new task, assessing recognition of complex emotions and mental states in social contexts. An ASC group (n = 23) was compared to a general population control group (n = 24). Children with ASC performed lower than controls on the task. Using task scores, more than 87% of the participants were allocated to their group. This new test quantifies complex emotion and mental state recognition in life-like situations. Our findings reveal that children with ASC have residual difficulties in this aspect of empathy. The use of language-based compensatory strategies for emotion recognition is discussed.

High-density association study and nomination of susceptibility genes for hypertension in the Japanese National Project

Essential hypertension is one of the most common, complex diseases, of which considerable efforts have been made to unravel the pathophysiological mechanisms. Over the last decade, multiple genome-wide linkage analyses have been conducted using 300-900 microsatellite markers but no single study has yielded definitive evidence for 'principal' hypertension susceptibility gene(s). Here, we performed a three-tiered, high-density association study of hypertension, which has been recently made possible. For tier 1, we genotyped 80 795 SNPs distributed throughout the genome in 188 male hypertensive subjects and two general population control groups (752 subjects per group). For tier 2 (752 hypertensive and 752 normotensive subjects), we genotyped a panel of 2676 SNPs selected (odds ratio >or= 1.4 and P <or= 0.015 in tier 1) and identified 75 SNPs that showed similar tendency of association in tier 1 and tier 2 samples (P <or= 0.05 for allele frequency and P <or= 0.01 for genotype distribution tests). For tier 3 (619 hypertensive and 1406 normotensive subjects), we genotyped the 75 SNPs and found nine SNPs from seven genomic loci to be associated with hypertension (P <or= 0.05). In three of these loci, the lowest P-values were observed for rs3755351 (P = 1.7 x 10(-5)) in ADD2, rs3794260 (P = 0.0001) in KIAA0789 and rs1805762 (P = 0.0003) in M6PR when case-control comparison was made in the combined data. An SNP (rs3755351) within ADD2 had the lowest P-value and its experiment-wide significance level is 0.13. Thus, these results have nominated several susceptibility genes for hypertension, and independent replication will clarify their etiological relevance.