Association study of polymorphisms in the ABO gene with ischemic stroke in the Chinese population.

Background: Ischemic stroke is the main cause of mortality and disability in older people worldwide. Recently epidemiological studies indicate that ischemic stroke is a complex disorder with a strong genetic component. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction (MI) locus in ABO gene.