The Impact of CYP24A1 Polymorphisms on Hypertension Susceptibility

Background: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of human death and disability. CYP24A1 regulates vitamin D activity and is closely linked to hypertension. However, the relationship between CYP24A1 polymorphisms and hypertension risk remains unclear. Methods: This case-control study included 503 hypertensive patients and 498 healthy controls from the Chinese Han population. The genotypes of CYP24A1 polymorphisms were detected using the Agena MassARRAY method. The association between genetic variations of CYP24A1 and hypertension risk was evaluated with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) in genetic models. Results: We found that rs56229249 of CYP24A1 significantly decreased the hypertension risk in homozygote (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.29–0.91, p = 0.022) and recessive models (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.29–0.91, p = 0.023). Further stratification analyses indicated that hypertension risk is related to age and sex, rs2762934 polymorphism increases hypertension risk among younger subjects (<61 years), and rs1977297 influences the risk of hypertension among older subjects (≥61 years). In addition, rs2762940 is related to hypertension risk in men, and rs56229249 is a protective factor against hypertension in women. Conclusions: Our study suggests that genetic variations of the CYP24A1 gene were significantly associated with susceptibility to hypertension in the Chinese population.