Genetic variants associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and systolic blood pressure and the risk of recurrent cardiovascular disease in patients with established vascular disease

Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) can be used to quantify the effect of genetic contribution to LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and systolic blood pressure (SBP). Several PRSs for LDL-C and SBP have been shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an LDL-C PRS and an SBP PRS on the risk of recurrent CVD in patients with CVD.Genotyping was performed in 4,416 patients included in the UCC-SMART study. Weighted LDL-C PRS (279 LDL-C-related SNPs) and SBP PRS (425 SBP-related SNPs) were calculated. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the relation between both PRSs and LDL-C and SBP. The effects of the LDL-C PRS and SBP PRS, and its combination on the risk of recurrent CVD (stroke, myocardial infarction, and vascular death) were analyzed with Cox proportional-hazard models.Per SD increase in LDL-C PRS, LDL-C increased by 0.18 mmol/L (95%CI 0.15-0.21). Per SD increase in SBP PRS, SBP increased by 3.19 mmHg (95%CI 2.60-3.78). During a follow-up of 11.7 years (IQR 9.2-15.0) 1,198 recurrent events occurred. Neither the LDL-C nor the SBP PRS were associated with recurrent CVD (HR 1.05 per SD increase in LDL-C PRS (95%CI 0.99-1.11) and HR 1.04 per SD increase in SBP PRS (95%CI 0.98-1.10)). The combination of both scores was neither associated with recurrent CVD (HR 1.09; 95%CI 0.93-1.28).In patients with vascular disease, LDL-C PRS and SBP PRS, both separately and in combination, were not significantly associated with recurrent CVD.