title: Genetic variability of von Willebrand factor and risk of coronary heart disease: the Rotterdam Study.
abstract: The von Willebrand factor (VWF) may be causally associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) or merely be a marker of endothelial damage. The G allele of the -1793 C/G promoter polymorphism in the VWF gene has been associated with higher plasma levels of VWF. To investigate whether VWF has a causal role in CHD, we designed a case-cohort study, including 352 subjects with CHD and a random cohort (n = 736), and prospectively examined the association of the -1793 C/G polymorphism with CHD in subjects with and without advanced atherosclerosis. All subjects were </=75 years of age and participating in the population-based Rotterdam Study. Atherosclerosis was assessed by the ankle-arm index. Among subjects with advanced atherosclerosis, heterozygous and homozygous carriers of the G allele had a 3.5 (1.2-10.2) and 1.5 (0.4-5.7) fold increased risk of CHD respectively, compared with C/C homozygotes. The hazard ratio was 2.6 (1.0-6.8) for carriers of at least one copy of the G allele versus non-carriers. No associations were found in the absence of advanced atherosclerosis. In conclusion, this study suggests that the G allele of the -1793 C/G polymorphism in the VWF gene is associated with an increased risk of CHD, but only in subjects with advanced atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Centre, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Irene M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: van der Meer
authors.forename: Geert-Jan
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Brouwers
authors.forename: Saskia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bulk
authors.forename: Frank W G
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Leebeek
authors.forename: Deirdre A M
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: van der Kuip
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: Jacqueline C M
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Witteman
authors.forename: Encarnación B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Gómez García
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006306:Health Surveys; D006487:Hemostasis / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000235:genetics; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014841:von Willebrand Factor