Association between ESR2 Genetic Variants and Risk of

tribute to the development of complex diseases such as myocardial infarction (MI), the leading cause of death in men and women. Women develop MI approxi-mately 10 years later than men, a difference that could be explained by the genes coding for the estrogen re-ceptors. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ESR2 gene may affect susceptibility for MI in a sex-dependent manner. METHODS: A nested case-control design was used to analyze 3 polymorphisms of the ESR2 gene and their associated haplotypes in 710 myocardial infarction cases from the REGICOR (Registre Gironı ́ del Cora-zón) study and 2379 controls randomly selected in a representative population of a Spanish cross-sec-tional study. RESULTS: The rs1271572 T allele was significantly more common in patients who developed MI (P 0.001). No association was observed for rs1256049 or rs4986938. Assuming a dominant model of inher-itance, the association, as determined by logistic multivariate regression after adjustment for conven-tional cardiac risk factors, remained statistically sig-nificant in men [odds ratio (OR) 1.65, 95 % CI 1.18– 2.30; P 0.003) but not in women (P 0.754). A very common haplotype encompassing the rs1271572 variant was also associated with the risk of MI in th