| Abstract
| - An insertion (I) allele of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene has been found to be associated with endurance performance among elite athletes, high-altitude mountaineers and Australian national rowers. On the other hand, homozygotes for the deletion (D) allele have a higher risk of cardiovascular complications than their II counterpart. However, the mechanisms underlying the influence of ACE genotype on cardiovascular complications are still poorly understood. Those findings prompted us to investigate the association and predictive value of the ACE gene polymorphism with physical activity status in 355 borderline-to-mild never treated hypertensives (265 men and 90 women, mean age 33(9 years) participating in the HARVEST study. ACE genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction with standard method. BMI and age did not vary among genotypes. ACE I/D allele frequencies (II 18,3%, ID 54,4%, DD 27,3%) were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Sedentary lifestyle was more common among DD than II hypertensives (76% vs 24% in DD, and 48% vs 52% in II, Chi2=13.9; p=0.001). In stepwise Manova using age, marital status, profession, sex, smoking, and alcohol intake as predictors of physical activity status, ACE genotype contributed to 21% of the variance in physical activity status of the population (F=16.03, p<0.0001). These results suggest that ACE gene polymorphism may be a specific genetic factor influencing physical performance in borderline to mild hypertensives. The increased risk for the development of cardiovascular complications associated with a deletion polymorphism of ACE gene could be at least partially explained by the sedentary lifestyle of these subjects.
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