Association of ghrelin polymorphisms with metabolic syndrome in Han Nationality Chinese.

Objective: To investigate the association of ghrelin gene polymorphisms with metabolic syndrome in Han Nationality Chinese.

Methods: A total of 240 patients with metabolic syndrome and 427 adults aged above forty years were recruited. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

Results: The allelic frequency of the Leu72Met polymorphism was 17.3% in the patient group and 11.9% in the control group (chi2 = 7.36, P = 0.007). Metabolic syndrome was more prevalent among carriers of the Met72 variant (43.8 vs 33.1%, age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio = 1.57, P = 0.01). No Arg51Gln variants were found in our study subjects.

Conclusion: Rather than being associated with its individual components, Leu72Met polymorphism is associated with metabolic syndrome in the Han Nationality Chinese. Arg51Gln polymorphism is rare in the Han Nationality Chinese.