Genetics of the premature coronary artery disease in Mexicans

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a chronic and multifactorial disease, considered a global health problem. Environmental and genetic factors participate in its development. Various studies, including whole genome and candidate gene studies, have suggested the participation of multiple genes in developing this disease. However, most of these studies have been conducted in Caucasian and Eastern populations. Studies conducted on the Mexican population show that Mexicans have a mixture of Caucasian, Indigenous, and African genes, this mixture varies according to the site of the Mexican Republic being analyzed. Given this, studies conducted in other populations cannot be applied to Mexicans. In 2008, at the initiative of Dr. Carlos Posadas Romero, the GEA (Genetics of Atherosclerotic Disease) project was launched, whose objective is to generate knowledge about environmental and genetic factors in patients with premature CAD (pCAD). The present review shows the participation of genetics in the development of pCAD in Mexicans, based on the results obtained in the GEA cohort.