ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate whether the insertion/deletion(I/D) polymorphism in the angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE) gene is associated with essential hypertension in Xinjiang Kazakh isolated population.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The study covered 201 hypertensives and 151 normotensive controls in Xinjiang Barlikun Kazakh population. The I/D polymorphism of ACE gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The frequencies of D and I in the hypertensive group (0.44 and 0.56, respectively) were not significantly different from the controls(0.39 and 0.61, respectively, P=0.16). The frequencies of ACE genotypes of DD, ID, and II were 0.18, 0.52, 0.30 in hypertensives respectively and 0.17, 0.43, 0.40 in control group respectively. There was no significant difference in genotypes between hypertensive group and normotensive group (P=0.14).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results suggested that the I/D polymorphism of ACE gene might not be associated with hypertension in the Kazakh population of Xinjiang Barlikun area.</p>