[Elevated coronary mortality in Mauritius: risk factors and genetic analyses].

In 1986, early mortality by acute myocardial infarction was found to be much higher in Mauritius than in the United States, among both males and females. For example, among 40-to-44 year olds there were 109 deaths/100,000 males per year in Mauritius, compared to only 34.5/100,000 in the U S. A study comparing two non hospital populations of Mauritian and U S. residents showed a higher prevalence of diabetes and glucose intolerance in Mauritius. Likewise, a case-control study comparing 60 young patients who had MI before age 45 years and age-matched Mauritian residents showed statistically significant differences in terms of abnormal glucose metabolism (P<0.001), LDL cholesterol (P<0.02), total cholesterol (P<0.04), HDL cholesterol (p<10-9), and triglycerides (P<0.01) in the patients with early MI. A genome-wide scan of Mauritian patients of North Indian origin (Francke et al) who had MI before age 52 years and patients with coronary heart disease occurring before age 60 years showed a significant relation between coronary heart disease and loci in chromosome regions 16p-13 (LOD 3.06), 10q23 (LOD 2,03; also linked to HDL cholesterol and the LDL/HDL ratio), and 3q27 (LOD 2.37). Genomic studies of Indo-Mauritian patients confirm the important role of the metabolic syndrome in the high prevalence of coronary heart disease in Mauritius, and show the polygenic nature of the disease.