ANN ARBOR, Mich—A study of 6,250 people across the country has found no single gene linked with hypertension. The February issue of the American Journal of Hypertension reports the first collective findings of the Family Blood Pressure Program (FBPP), a $50 million project of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. The studies represent 6,250 individuals with an average age of 60 years, the largest sample of siblings with hypertension in the United States. "These studies demonstrate that there is no single gene, no ‘silver bullet’ to explain why people develop high blood pressure," said Sharon Kardia, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and lead author of one of the papers in this month’s journal. "In light of the ethnic diversity represented in the FBPP studies, it is astonishing that we reached the same conclusion across studies. "We can now shift our focus to studying relationships between genes with modest effects and how a person’s environment interacts with their genetic susceptibility. Understanding the genetic underpinnings of hypertension will provide information vital to the development of new drugs, new methods for early diagnosis, and more personalized treatment of the disease," she said. The Family Blood Pressure Program consists of four multi-institutional networks across the country that work both independently and cooperatively with the goal of identifying the gene or genes responsible for hypertension and its complications. Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease, affecting more than 40 million people in the United States alone. It is the top reason people seek medical attention in the U.S. The study began in 1995 and includes 12 different geographical and ethnic populations, ranging from Honolulu to Jackson, Miss. to Tecumseh, Mich. Kardia and Alan Weder, professor of internal medicine at U-M, are principal investigators involved in the study. Sharon Kardia’s profile: www.sph.umich.edu/faculty/skardia.html

Alan Weder’s profile: www.med.umich.edu/cvc/about/stawed.htm

Access the American Journal of Hypertension at: www.medicinedirect.com/journal/journal?sdid=4875 For more about the Family Blood Pressure Project: www.sph.uth.tmc.edu:8052/hgc/fbpp/

Contact: Colleen Newvine
E-mail: cnewvine@umich.edu