We genotyped for rs1333049, 4097 CHD-free participants including 3191 aged 65-86 years from the Three-City (3C) Study and 906 aged 59-71 years from the Vascular Aging Study (EVA). Plaque-free mean CCA-IMT and the presence of carotid plaques were assessed.
In multivariate analysis, each C allele copy of rs1333049 was associated with baseline carotid plaques (odds ratio (OR) = 1.24; 95%confidence interval (CI) = 1.13-1.36; p < 0.001) but not with baseline CCA-IMT (p = 0.19). Among the EVA participants, the C allele was associated with 4-year plaques progression (p = 0.04) but not with CCA-IMT progression.
The chromosome 9p21 locus might influence CHD risk through carotid plaques development.