Atrial fibrillation associated genetic variation near PITX2 gene increases the risk of preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVES: SNP rs2200733 located near PITX2 gene is associated with the risk of atrial fibrillation. Preeclamptic women are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease like atrial fibrillation. Whether this translates into an association between SNP rs2200733 and preeclampsia is not known. Therefore, we determined the association of SNP rs2200733 (C/T) with the risk of preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN: A hospital based prospective case-control study involving 585 pregnant women of whom 285 were preeclamptic and 300 were normotensive. SNP rs2200733 was genotyped by PCR-RFLP method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Statistical significance of the difference in the minor allele frequency between case and control groups was determined by Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Minor allele frequency was 21.4% among preeclamptic pregnant women and 13.7% among normotensive pregnant women (P = 0.00064; odds ratio = 1.72 (0.95 CI: 1.23-2.41). The measures of association were heterogeneous when compared after categorisation of the preeclamptic group into clinical sub-groups. The association was not significant with the eclampsia sub-group (P = 0.39) but relatively higher with the sub-group not superimposed by eclampsia (P = 0.0000048; odds ratio = 2.10 [0.95CI: 1.50-2.92]). Furthermore, the association was relatively higher with the sub-group involving intrauterine growth retardation and intrauterine death (P = 0.00017; odds ratio = 2.89 (0.95CI: 1.65-4.94)]. CONCLUSIONS: Minor allele of SNP rs2200733 is associated with the risk of preeclampsia. SNP rs220073 may represent a common risk factor that predispose women to develop both preeclampsia during pregnancy and cardiovascular disease later on.