@article {1726, title = {A polymorphism in the leptin gene promoter is associated with anemia in patients with HIV disease.}, journal = {Blood}, volume = {118}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Nov 17}, pages = {5401-8}, abstract = {To study factors associated with anemia and its effect on survival in HIV-infected persons treated with modern combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), we characterized the prevalence of anemia in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) and used a candidate gene approach to identify proinflammatory gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with anemia in HIV disease. The study comprised 1597 HIV(+) and 865 HIV(-) VACS subjects with DNA, blood, and annotated clinical data available for analysis. Anemia was defined according to World Health Organization criteria (hemoglobin < 13 g/dL and < 12 g/dL in men and women, respectively). The prevalence of anemia in HIV(+) and HIV(-) subjects was 23.1\% and 12.9\%, respectively. Independent of HIV status, anemia was present in 23.4\% and 8\% in blacks and whites, respectively. Analysis of our candidate genes revealed that the leptin -2548 G/A SNP was associated with anemia in HIV(+), but not HIV(-), patients, with the AA and AG genotypes significantly predicting anemia (P < .003 and P < .039, respectively, logistic regression). This association was replicated in an independent cohort of HIV(+) women. Our study provides novel insight into the association between genetic variability in the leptin gene and anemia in HIV(+) individuals.}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Anemia, Anti-Retroviral Agents, Cohort Studies, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genetic Variation, Hemoglobins, HIV Infections, Humans, Leptin, Linkage Disequilibrium, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Prevalence, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Veterans}, issn = {1528-0020}, doi = {10.1182/blood-2011-06-362194}, author = {Vanasse, Gary J and Jeong, Jee-Yeong and Tate, Janet and Bathulapalli, Harini and Anderson, Damon and Steen, Hanno and Fleming, Mark and Mattocks, Kristin and Telenti, Amalio and Fellay, Jacques and Justice, Amy C and Berliner, Nancy} }