The association between the 4G/5G polymorphism in the promoter of the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene and deep venous thrombosis in young people

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the association between the 4G/5G polymorphism in the promoter of the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in young people.

Methods: Prevalence of the 4G/5G polymorphism was investigated using DNA analysis in a population of 81 consecutive and unrelated patients with an objectively documented first episode of DVT under 40 years old and in a control group of 88 healthy subjects.

Results: The frequency of genotypes among patients was 0.27 4G/4G, 0.49 4G/5G and 0.23 5G/5G, corresponding to a frequency of 0.52 for the 4G allele. In the control group the results were, respectively, 0.24, 0.44 and 0.32, corresponding to a frequency of 0.46 for the 4G allele. The odds ratio (OR) for homozygous 4G genotype was 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 0.7–3.6), which was not statistically significant (P = 0.51).

Conclusion: In this study, the 4G/5G polymorphism in the promoter of the PAI-1 gene, including the homozygous 4G genotype, was not associated with a significantly increased risk of DVT in young people.