Sex-dependent association of blood pressure with oestrogen receptor genes ERα and ERβ

Abstract

Background: There is mounting physiological evidence for an important role of the oestrogen receptors, ERα and ERβ, in vasodilatation and the response to vascular injury. In addition, genetic studies have suggested that the genes encoding these receptors may be involved in the genetic regulation of blood pressure. The existence of such sex steroid-related genes may help to explain the observed sex differences in blood pressure. Objective: To investigate the role of the oestrogen receptor genes (ERα and ERβ) in blood pressure variation in women and in men. Design: We performed a genetic association study of the oestrogen receptor genes in 718 unrelated healthy white individuals (386 men and 3..