Men develop coronary artery disease (CAD) approximately ten years earlier than women. Does the Y chromosome, which is found only in males, have any role in this?

A study published on February 9 in The Lancet journal does show that the Y chromosome plays a role. But not every male shares the same risk of developing coronary artery disease, though. Only those belonging to one of the 13 ancient lineages (haplogroup I) were found to be carriers of coronary artery disease risk.

“Haplogroup I is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease,” the authors write. Carriers of haplogroup I are at 50 per cent increased risk of CAD compared with men having different variants. The study also revealed that the increased risk is not mediated by traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as high systolic blood pressure and low HDL cholesterol.........Read More

Source: The Hindu