Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphisms and obesity: an examination of three black populations.

We examined the association between obesity and 13 angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphisms, including the presence (I) or absence (D) of an Alu element in intron 16 (I/D polymorphism), and performed haplotype analysis using data collected from participants of a community survey of hypertension among blacks living in Ibadan, Nigeria; Spanish Town, Jamaica; and Chicago, IL. Transmission distortion of ACE gene polymorphisms and haplotypes from heterozygous parents to affected offspring was examined in each study population. To estimate haplotypes, polymorphisms were divided into three groups based on their position on the ACE gene. No ACE gene polymorphism was consistently overtransmitted from parents to obese offspring among the three populations. However, the haplotype ACE1-ACE5 TACAT, located in the promoter region, was significantly overtransmitted from parents to obese offspring in both the U.S. and Nigerian populations. No haplotype was significantly overtransmitted from parents to obese offspring among the Jamaicans. In conclusion, we noted the overtransmission of a particular ACE gene promoter region haplotype from parents to obese offspring in two separate black populations. These data suggest that ACE gene polymorphisms may influence the development of weight gain.