Abstract-The 825T allele of the GNB3 gene has been associated with essential hypertension and obesity in cross-sectional studies. We have therefore planned a longitudinal cohort study to assess whether the GNB3 825T allele is predictive of blood pressure increase in young subjects with grade I hypertension. We genotyped at the GNB3 oth genetic and environmental factors contribute to the pathogenesis of essential hypertension. Hypertension is about twice as common in subjects who have one or two hypertensive parents, and many epidemiological studies suggest that genetic factors account for approximately 30% of the variation in blood pressure in various populations. 1 Polymorphisms in several genes has been associated with blood pressure levels. 2 Siffert et al 3 described a C825T polymorphism in the GNB3 gene encoding the  3 -subunit of heterotrimeric G proteins, with the 825T allele being associated with alternative splicing of the gene, hypertension, and increased body mass index (BMI). 4,5 The 825T allele has been shown to be associated also with diastolic dysfunction, 6 increased left ventricular mass index, 7 and increased risk for left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with hypertension. 8 However, the association of T allele with hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors has been disputed in recent studies. 9 -11 A large cross-sectional study could not show association between GNB3 genotypes and left ventricular hypertrophy. 9 Hengstenberg and coworkers 12 confirmed the association between the 825T allele and hypertension, whereas Snapir et al 11 produced negative results. However, in that latter study, the number of 825T allele carriers was remarkably low.All the previous studies selected patients from a largescale, population-based sample, pooling together normotensive subjects, hypertensive patients, and patients taking antihypertensive medications. Moreover, all but one study 11 were cross-sectional and included patients with a broad range of age and cardiovascular risks.The GNB3 polymorphism has never been formally tested as a potential marker of risk for development of hypertension, and up to now it is unclear to what extent the 825T allele has a direct effect on blood pressure, independent of body weight and other potential confounders such as age and drug treatment. Therefore, to avoid the effect of these confounders on blood pressure, we studied a homogeneous cohort of young, never-treated patients with stage I hypertension. The aim of our study was to investigate in these subjects whether the 825T allele was associated with increased risk of development of more severe hypertension during long-term follow-up.