engleski

Genetic Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases in the Roma Minority Population of Croatia

The Roma, formed as a founder population that has undergone multiple consecutive bottlenecks and consequently experienced genetic drift together with it's persistent socially, politically and culturally determined isolation, present almost ideal target population for investigation of genetic factors influencing development of complex diseases. In this investigation we assumed that Bayash Roma population living in Croatia could be exemplary for having population-specific allele frequencies, including those for candidate genes for cardiovascular disease. To assess the genetic risk factors for development of cardiovascular disease in the population of Bayash Roma we investigated the allele frequencies of the following polymorphisms: ACE I/D, eNOS VNTR and LEP G-2548A. The allele frequencies in a sample of 230 Bayash Roma of Croatia are compared with the data reported for other European and world populations and the geographic distributions of minor allele frequencies are presented. Population analysis showed that the Bayash Roma population living in Croatia has typical European frequency of the I allele of the ACE I/D polymorphism (45%), but the frequency of the allele 4 of the eNOS VNTR polymorphism (12%) as well as of allele G of the LEP G-2548A (34%) are lower than those found in surrounding European populations placing Croatian Roma population further east, among Asian populations. Present analysis showed that the Bayash Roma of Croatia in comparison with other European populations, do not carry increased genetic risk for cardiovascular diseases related to the most common polymorphisms of the ACE, eNOS and LEP genes.

ACE; eNOS; LEP; polymorphism; population genetics; anthropology; Bayash Roma; Croatia

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