Lack of association of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). Gene insertion/deletion polymorphism with CAD in two Asian populations.

Association of the insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene with coronary artery disease with or without myocardial infarction (MI) was examined in a group of Chinese and Indian men in Singapore. The sample comprised an angiographically confirmed patient group of 276 Chinese and 102 Indians, of which 155 Chinese and 72 Indians had MI, and a matched healthy control group (147 Chinese and 166 Indians). The frequency of the D allele in the Chinese was 0.39 in those with CAD with MI, 0.43 in those with CAD but without MI, and 0.41 in the control group. The frequency of the D allele in Indians was 0.44 in CAD with or without MI, and 0.45 in the control group. There was no significant association of the ACE gene with CAD or MI in the Chinese or Indians, either in the entire sample or in different risk groups. The frequency of the D allele was significantly lower in the healthy Chinese and Indians than that reported in Caucasians. The association of the ACE gene with MI or CAD observed in other studies could not be confirmed in the present series of Chinese and Indians in Singapore.