A novel locus for arterial hypertension on chromosome 1p36 maps to a metabolic syndrome trait cluster in the Sorbs, a Slavic population isolate in Germany.

Objective: Genome-wide linkage studies and genome-wide association studies have not as yet identified major genes contributing to primary hypertension in the general population. This state-of-affairs suggests considerable heterogeneity with small contributing effects for primary hypertension, or other complex genetic traits, in outbred populations. Isolated populations, as recent data from Iceland and French Canada suggest, could offer a solution to this problem.