The genotype and allele frequencies in the control Russians and Tatars of Bashkortostan are presented in Tables 1 and 2. In each of these groups, the genotype distributions were consistent with those predicted by the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

      There was a tendency in the Russian MI patients (Table 1) for an increase of the E2 allele (28.5 vs. 21.6%, p = 0.052) and the E2/E2 genotype compared with the Russian control group (11.0 vs. 4.3%, p = 0.056). In Tatar MI patients (Table 2) the frequencies of the E2 allele (11.3 vs. 7.8%, p = 0.390) and genotype were higher than in the Tatar controls, but the differences were not statistically significant (27.8 vs. 25.58%, p = 0.610).

      We divided the patients in three groups according to their body mass index (BMI). The frequencies of genotypes and alleles in the first group (with a BMI of <25) of Russian patients (Table 1) were not significantly different when compared with the Russian control group. But in the groups with a BMI of >25 but <30, the frequencies of E2/E2 genotypes and E2 allele were significantly higher. In the Russian patients with a BMI of >25 but <30, the E2/E2 genotype frequency was 13.4 vs. 4.3% in Russian controls (p = 0.04, OR = 3.44), the E2 allele frequency was 31.3 vs. 21.6% in the same control group (p = 0.045, OR = 1.66). The frequency of the E1 allele in this group were significantly lower than in the Russian control group (68.7 vs. 78.5%, p = 0.045, OR = 0.60). In the patients with a BMI of >30, the frequencies of the E2/E2 genotype (17.1 vs. 4.3%, p = 0.014, OR = 4.57) and of the E2 allele compared with Russian controls (34.2 vs. 21.6%, p = 0.026, OR = 1.89) increased, while the frequency of the E1 allele (65.9 vs. 78.5% in the control group, p = 0.026, OR = 0.53) decreased. In the Tatar patients with different BMIs (Table 2), the results of comparison with the Tatar control group were not statistically significant.

      We divided the patients in the two groups according to whether they had a history of arterial hypertension (AH) and those who did not (Non AH). The statistical analysis of Tatar and Russian patients did not show any significant differences. There were no significant differences in the Russian and Tatar patients, according to their age, either in men aged less than 40 years or in the subjects aged 40 years and older.

      On the basis of electrocardiography, we found 44 Russian and 26 Tatar patients to have left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The E2/E2 genotype (18.2 vs. 4.3%, p = 0.008, OR = 4.93) and the E2 allele frequencies in Russian patients with LVH were significantly higher than in the Russian control group (36.4 vs. 21.6%, p = 0.01, OR = 2.08), while the E1/E1 genotype and the E1 allele were lower than in the same control group (45.5 vs. 61.2%, p = 0.08, OR = 0.53 and 63.6 vs. 78.5%, p = 0.01, OR = 0.48, respectively). In Tatar patients there were no differences in distribution of the genotype and allele frequencies between patients and Tatar controls on the basis of LVH.

Table 1. Genotype and allele frequencies of IL-1β exon 5 gene polymorphism in Russian control subjects and MI patients

N: genotype (allele) number; p: genotype (allele) frequencies; MI: myocardial infarction; BMI: body mass index; BMI<25: a BMI of less than 25; BMI>25 but <30: a BMI of more than 25 but less than 30; BMI>30: a BMI of more than 30; LVH: left ventricular hypertrophy; Non LVH: non LVH; AH: arterial hypertension; Non AH: non arterial hypertension.

a: Vs. the whole control group.

b: Vs. the same group in controls.

c: p<0.05.

d: p = 0.01.

N: genotype (allele) number; p: genotype (allele) frequencies; MI: myocardial infarction; BMI: body mass index; BMI<25: a BMI of less than 25; BMI>25 but <30: a BMI of more than 25 but less than 30; BMI>30: a BMI of more than 30; LVH: left ventricular hypertrophy; Non LVH: non left ventricular hypertrophy; AH: arterial hypertension; Non AH: non arterial hypertension; p was not significant for all comparisons.

^a vs. the whole control group.

^b vs. the same group in control.