EXERCISE TRAINING AND BLOOD PRESSURE WITH REFERENCE TO THE M235T POLYMORPHISM OF ANGIOTENSINOGEN GENE

1904 The T allele of the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene M235T polymorphism has been linked to increased resting blood pressure (BP). We investigated the role of this polymorphism in modifying the response of BP to regular physical exercise. The subjects were middle-aged men (n=134), randomly selected from the Finnish population registry. The study design included a 2.5 year lead-in period followed by a 3-year randomized low intensity exercise intervention protocol. Supine BP was measured using a random zero mercury sphygmomanometer. At the randomization, systolic and diastolic BP (DBP) were similar between the exercise and reference groups as well as between the genotypes. Excellent compliance of the study subjects is evident with a low drop-out rate (4 per cent in the whole study group), and as a significant increase in aerobic threshold (7 per cent, p=0.025) in the exercise group. In the repeated measures ANOVA, the polymorphism related to the within-subject variability in DBP during the intervention (F=5.3, p=0.006), and there was an interaction effect on DBP (F=3.3, p=0.041) between the genotype and study group after adjustment for body weight change. DBP decreased in the MM homozygotes of the exercise group by 4.7 mmHg (95% CI −0.8;−8.7, p=0.023) during the intervention, while such a response was not seen in other genotypes. There were no significant changes in DBP in any genotype of the reference group. These results indicate that, in men homozygous for the M allele of the AGT M235T polymorphism, even a mild increase in habitual exercise can lower DBP.