Background
Minor ischemic strokes, though initially presenting with limited symptoms, carry a significant risk of recurrence, potentially leading to severe disability. However, the association of CRP gene variations in predicting the risk for recurrent minor stroke, especially how genetic susceptibility interacts with poor health habits like smoking, still needs to be established. This study investigates the relationships of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CRP gene with minor stroke recurrence. Furthermore, this research proceeds to explore the potential interactions between these genetic variants and smoking status.
Methods
A total of 2,032 first-time minor stroke patients were retrospectively recruited from January 2019 to December 2022 in Linfen People's Hospital. Genomic DNA was extracted for genotyping four SNPs of the CRP gene: rs1130864, rs1800947, rs2808632, and rs3093059. We scrutinized the association of these SNPs with the risk of stroke recurrence in an additive, dominant, and recessive genetic model. To further explore this complicated interaction of the CRP gene SNPs with the status of smoking, the tool of Generalized Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (GMDR), was employed. Besides, multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the strength of these associations with the risk of recurrence. The patients were followed by a team of three trained rehabilitators, making evaluations every three months for one year, in a very thorough follow-up.
Results
Our study recruited 260 patients who suffered recurrent minor strokes and 264 age- and sex-matched controls without recurrence. The A allele of rs2808632 (P = 0.002) and C allele of rs3093059 (P = 0.009) were found to be significantly associated with high risk of stroke recurrence by analysis. Those patients with the combined genotypes rs2808632 CA + AA and rs3093059 TC + CC revealed 2.325 times more risk for recurrence when compared to those with the genotypes rs2808632 CC and rs3093059 TT (P = 0.002). Furthermore, in the rs3093059 TC + CC genotypes versus the TT genotype among the smokers, an associated 3.467-fold increased risk for recurrence had been confirmed.
Conclusion
Our results confirmed that rs2808632 and rs3093059 together are pivotal factors in contributing to heightened minor stroke recurrence. Besides, this significantly affects the interaction between rs3093059 SNP and smoking status.
