Gene Appears To Boost Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease In Smokers April 27, 2000 CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (AP) - Smokers who carry a common gene face twice the risk of heart disease than smokers who don't, according to a study of heart disease patients in four communities. The study, conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and other institutions, found the gene GSTT1 sharply raises the risk of heart disease in smokers. The findings appeared in the April issue of Atherosclerosis. Scientists studied 1,290 people. They were among 14,239 people enrolled in the continuing Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, a federally supported effort to understand the risk factors of heart attacks and strokes. A total of 400 people had suffered heart attacks or were newly diagnosed with heart disease, while 890 served as controls, said James S. Pankow, assistant UNC-Chapel Hill professor and a study co-author. Pankow said those who suffered heart attacks or had heart disease were more likely to be smokers, which he said was unsurprising. "What was new was that individuals without the gene had about a 60 percent greater risk of heart problems if they smoked and that those with the gene had about a 180 percent greater risk," Pankow said. "Among people who don't smoke, the gene seems to make no difference in heart disease." The study showed roughly four of five study subjects had the GSTT1 gene, considered integral to the body's ability to process chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Pankow said the gene already has been linked to some other smoking-related illnesses, such as bladder cancer. "We've known for a long time that smoking is bad for the heart," he said, "but we don't fully understand why. We hope this research will provide some clues." Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved