Association of angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphisms with risk of hypertension among the Ethiopian population

Abstract Introduction: Although the pathophysiological mechanism of hypertension is not fully elucidated yet, a large number of pieces of evidence have shown that genetic alterations in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system play a central role. However, the association of insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene with essential hypertension is controversial yet, and there is a limited number of publications among the Ethiopian population. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association of ACE gene I/D polymorphism with the risk of hypertension among essential hypertension patients at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia. Materials and methods A case-control study was conducted from October 07, 2020, to June 02, 2021, among hypertensive patients and normotensive control groups at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and anthropometric measurements. Five milliliters of blood were drawn from each of the randomly selected 64 hypertensive and 64 normotensive participants for molecular test analysis. Genetic polymorphism of the ACE gene was identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and electrophoresis. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 25.0 software. The strength of association between the genotype and hypertension was estimated through the calculation of adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals using logistic regression. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result The distribution of DD genotypes and D allele of the ACE gene were 48.4% and 63% in essential hypertensive patients, respectively, while it were 29.7% and 42.2% in control subjects respectively. The ACE DD genotype (p-value = 0.005) and D allele (p-value = 0.001) were more frequent among hypertensive patients as compared to controls. Conclusion The present study found that the DD genotype and D allele of the ACE gene has had a strong association with a high risk of hypertension in the study population.