Cardiovascular adaptation, functional capacity and Angiotensin-converting enzyme I/D polymorphism in elite athletes.
OBJECTIVE
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is associated with the development of cardiac hypertrophy and improved physical fitness. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the ACE gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and adaptation to sports training.


METHODS
The study included 299 elite Spanish athletes (193 men and 106 women) from 32 different sports disciplines, which were grouped according to their static and dynamic components. All participants underwent body composition analysis, Doppler echocardiography at rest, and ergospirometry. Their ACE genotype was determined using the polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS
The most common genotype in both males and females was the deletion-insertion (DI) heterozygote (57.5% and 54.7%, respectively), followed by the DD homozygote (30.6% and 34.9%), and the II homozygote (11.9% and 10.4%). Differences in morphometric and functional cardiac adaptation were observed between the different sports disciplines, but there was no statistically significant relationship with the ACE I/D polymorphism. Moreover, when athletes with different genotypes were compared, the only differences observed were between the DD and DI groups in female athletes, who differed in body mass index and longitudinal right atrial dimension.


CONCLUSIONS
The ACE I/D polymorphism did not appear to influence cardiovascular adaptation in response to training. However, the DI genotype was the most common, probably because the sample was biased by being made up of elite athletes.
Boraita
Araceli
A
Servicio de Cardiología, Cineantropometría, Fisiología y Laboratorio Clínico, Centro de Medicina del Deporte, Consejo Superior de Deportes, Madrid, Spain. araceli.boraita@csd.gob.es
de la Rosa
Alejandro
A
Heras
María E
ME
de la Torre
Ana I
AI
Canda
Alicia
A
Rabadán
Manuel
M
Díaz
Angel E
AE
González
César
C
López
Marta
M
Hernández
Mariano
M
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006579:Heterozygote; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D013147:Spirometry; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A