The D allele is not associated with hypertension, but behaves as a marker of atherosclerotic cardiovascular complications and diabetic nephropathy. These associations do not necessarily imply a causal relationship and may have been inflated by publication bias. Nevertheless, their possible therapeutic implications may be subject to further investigation in prospective (intervention) studies.

Whether menopause would be associated with a rise in 4 -5 mm Hg higher systolic CBP (15 readings per subject) and 24-h BP (P р0.05 for differences between blood pressure (BP) was prospectively assessed in a cohort study. A total of 315 women (30-70 years at folperi-and postmenopausal women). Furthermore, systolic CBP rose nearly 5 mm Hg per decade more low-up) were randomly selected from the population.

The effects of regular daily coffee consumption on liver enzymes were studied in a large number of subjects from the general population. In coffee drinkers, liver enzymes (gamma-glutamyl transferase, alanine-amino transferase, and alkaline phosphatase) and serum bilirubin were lower than in non-coffee-drinking subjects or in those consuming less than 3 cups daily. The hypothesis proposed is that liver enzymes are a target for caffeine contained in coffee.

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We studied 318 subjects aged 80 years of over included in the Cardiovascular Study in the Elderly (CASTEL). Some well known risk factors (left ventricular hypertrophy, glucose intolerance, cholesterol, ApoB/ApoA ratio, triglycerides, proteinuria, cigarette smoking, and ECG abnormalities), whose importance in cardiovascular risk is definitely accepted for young adults, were very poor predictors of mortality in our survey. On the contrary, FEV1 reduction and blood uric acid were strong predictors.

The data obtained showed that the sequence of development of sacral region ossification was related to gestational age. This observation allows clinicians to accurately exclude isolated sacral agenesis at 16 to 17 weeks of gestation, when the S1-S2 ossification nuclei are visualized. This opportunity may be of particular value in the offspring of diabetic mothers.

Background Variants of the human genes coding for renin, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), angiotensinogen (AGT) and the angiotensin II type-I receptor (AT,R) are inconsistently associated with cardiovascular-renal disease, possibly because of genetic differences in the background populations.Methods This systematic review of the literature investigated genetic variation in the renin system according to race, sex and age. Across studies with relevant information, multivariate analyses also accounted for the methods of genotyping and the enrollment of subjects as controls, cases or groups studied cross-sectionally. ResultsThe 185 reviewed reports included 64978 subjects. In five studies (n=989) on the renin gene, the Hind Ill and Taq I polymorphisms varied with the groups' average age, whereas the Bg I, Bg II and Hind Ill but not Taq I sites differed according to race. Among 135 studies (n = 44697) on the deletion/insertion (DA) polymorphism of the ACE gene, the frequency of the D allele was 54.0%. Its prevalence was not related to sex and black race, was 49.9% lower in Asians, 10.0% lower in studies relying on I-specific primers, 4.9% higher for each 25-year increment in the average age of the groups studied, and 16.7% higher in cases than controls. Among 12 studies (n = 4952) on the T'74+M variant of the AGT gene, the M'74 frequency was 1 1 .O%, did not vary according to sex and enrollment group, was 56.7% lower in blacks and 39.5% lower for each 25-year increase in the groups' mean age. Across 44 studies (n = 1671 3) on the M235+T substitution in the AGT gene, the T235 prevalence was 51 -6%. Its frequency was not related to sex and the method of genotyping, tended to be 7.5% lower for each 25-year increase in average age, was from 4.6 to 6.6 times higher in nonwhites than whites and 13.2% higher in cases than controls. Among 13 studies (n = 4332) on the A' '66+C variant of the AT,R gene, the C' 166 allelic frequency was 25.7%. Its prevalence was independent of the enrollment group, 77.4% lower in Asians, and nearly doubled for each 25-year increment in age.Coriclusion With adjustments applied for the subjects' enrollment group and the methods of genotyping, genetic polymorphism in the renin system varies according to race and age, but not sex. One possible application of the present results is to provide allelic and genotypic frequencies, which could be used to assess power, to perform sample size calculations, or to predict selection bias in future studies.

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