The authors of a recent study have identified a novel genetic variant that was significantly associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) in individuals with type 2 diabetes, but not in those without diabetes. These findings could lead to the development of new interventions for CHD in patients with diabetes.

Patients with diabetes have an increased risk of developing CHD. Because previous studies have suggested that the genetic factors predisposing individuals to elevated cardiovascular risk may vary among patients with and without diabetes, Lu Qi, MD, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues sought to identify genetic determinants of CHD that are specific to individuals with diabetes.

Researchers examined type 2 diabetic patients with CHD (n=1517) and type 2 diabetic CHD-negative controls (n=2671) from the Nurses’ Health Study, the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, the Joslin Heart Study, the Gargano Heart Study, and the Catanzaro Study and compared their results with those of nondiabetic patients with CHD (n=737) and nondiabetic CHD-negative controls (n=1637) from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study cohorts.

The analysis included more than 2.5 million common genetic variants.

Qi and colleagues found that a variant on chromosome 1q25 (rs10911021) was consistently associated with an elevated risk of CHD among patients with diabetes, but not among patients without diabetes. This association appeared to be functionally related to glutamic acid metabolism, suggesting a mechanistic link.

The full study and its funding information can be found in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Reference

Lu Qi L, Qi Q, Prudente S, et al. Association between a genetic variant related to glutamic acid metabolism and coronary heart disease in individuals with type 2 diabetes. JAMA. 2013;310(8):821-828.