Genetic markers of cardiac autonomic neuropathy in the Kazakh population

Abstract

Abstract Background Cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) that increases the risk of morbidity and mortality by disrupting cardiac innervation. Recent evidence suggests that CAN may manifest even before the onset of DM, with prediabetes and metabolic syndrome potentially serving as precursors. This study aims to identify genetic markers associated with CAN development in the Kazakh population by investigating the SNPs of specific genes. Materials and methods A case-control study involved 82 patients with CAN (cases) and 100 patients without CAN (controls). A total of 182 individuals of Kazakh nationality were enrolled from a hospital affiliated with the RSE “Medical Center Hospital of the President’s Affairs Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan”. 7 SNPs of genes FTO, PPARG, SNCA, XRCC1, FLACC1/CASP8 were studied. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square methods, calculation of odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), and logistic regression in SPSS 26.0. Results: Among the SNCA gene polymorphisms, rs2737029 was significantly associated with CAN, almost doubling the risk of CAN (OR 2.03(1.09–3.77), p = 0.03). However, no statistically significant association with CAN was detected with the rs2736990 of the SNCA gene (OR 1.00 CI (0.63–1.59), p = 0.99). rs12149832 of the FTO gene increased the risk of CAN threefold (OR 3.22(1.04–9.95), p = 0.04), while rs1801282 of the PPARG gene and rs13016963 of the FLACC1 gene increased the risk twofold (OR 2.56(1.19–5.49), p = 0.02) and (OR 2.34(1.00-5.46), p = 0.05) respectively. rs1108775 and rs1799782 of the XRCC1 gene were associated with reduced chances of developing CAN both before and after adjustment (OR 0.24, CI (0.09–0.68), p = 0.007, and OR 0.43, CI (0.22–0.84), p = 0.02, respectively). Conclusion: The study suggests that rs2737029 (SNCA gene), rs12149832 (FTO gene), rs1801282 (PPARG gene), and rs13016963 (FLACC1 gene) may be predisposing factors for CAN development. Additionally, SNPs rs1108775 and rs1799782 (XRCC1 gene) may confer resistance to CAN. Only one polymorphism rs2736990 of the SNCA gene was not associated with CAN.

Keywords

• Cardiac autonomic neuropathy
• Genetic polymorphisms
• Kazakh population
• Heart rate variability