Association of CHI3L1 gene variants with YKL‐40 levels and hypertension incidence: A population‐based nested case‐control study in China

YKL‐40 was reported to be associated with the risk of hypertension. Whether the variants of CHI3L1 gene were associated with both YKL‐40 levels and hypertension needs to be further elucidated. In a 1:1 matched case‐control study of 507 pairs with available YKL‐40 levels and DNA samples nested in a prospective cohort of Chinese subjects, the 15 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CHI3L1 gene were genotyped. The levels of YKL‐40 among different genotypes of each SNP were compared after false discovery rate adjustment. Multivariable conditional logistic regression analyses were used to explore the association between the genotypes and the risk of hypertension. Subjects with the genetic variants for rs10399931, rs1538372, rs2071580, rs2297839 and rs4950928 had lower YKL‐40 levels. The genetic variant for rs10399805 was associated with higher YKL‐40 level. Subjects with the genotype of GA/AA of rs10399805 had a 1.34‐fold risk of hypertension compared with those with GG genotype in the total population (P = .05). Subjects with heterozygote/rare homozygote genotype of rs4950928 and rs2297839 both had a significantly lower risk of hypertension compared with those with major homozygote genotype among men. The ORs (95% CIs) were 0.46 (0.23‐0.89) and 0.49 (0.26‐0.91), respectively. The above three SNPs could significantly improve the accuracy of risk prediction for hypertension based on the conventional factors. The genotypes of rs10399805, rs4950928 and rs2297839 may hopefully become stable biomarkers for predicting the risk of hypertension.