Genetics of cardiovascular disease: Importance of sex and ethnicity.

ABSTRACT: Sex differences in incidence and prevalence of and morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease are well documented. However, many studies examining the genetic basis for cardiovascular disease fail to consider sex as a variable in the study design, in part, because there is an inherent difficulty in studying the contribution of the sex chromosomes in women due to X chromosome inactivation. This paper will provide general background on the X and Y chromosomes (including gene content, the pseudoautosomal regions, and X chromosome inactivation), discuss how sex chromosomes have been ignored in Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) of cardiovascular diseases, and discuss genetics influencing development of cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerosis with particular attention to ca

SUBMITTER: Winham SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4466125 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature