Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified a susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs17042171 on 4q25 for atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether this association between rs17042171 and AF also exists in Chinese Han populations. METHODS: It was a case-control study. We enrolled a total of 1,593 Chinese Han origin individuals in the study, including 597 AF patients and 996 AF-free controls. Genotyping was performed using the TaqMan allelic discrimination Assay. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated in logistic regression models. RESULTS: There was strongly significant difference between AF patients and control subjects regarding rs17042171 assumption of additive model (OR=2.20, 95% CI: 1.88-2.57, p=2.00 × 10(-22)), dominant model (OR=2.99; 95% CI: 2.19-4.09; p=6.47 × 10(-12)) and a recessive (OR=2.75; 95% CI: 2.21-3.43; p=1.30 × 10(-19)). In the stratification analysis based on age, gender, hypertension, diabetes and coronary artery disease, there was no significant difference of the associations for rs17042171 among the subgroups. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that rs17042171 confers an increased risk of AF in Chinese Han Populations and expanded the association to non-European ancestry populations for the first time.