People of African ancestry who carry two copies of a common variant in the CD36 gene had nearly five times the odds of dilated cardiomyopathy, a major cause of heart failure, in a study published in JAMA on Oct. 19. The finding is an association. It does not prove the variant causes disease in any single person, and it does not change current screening guidance.
The variant, known as Y325*, is carried by about 17% of people of African ancestry and fewer than 0.1% of people of European ancestry, according to earlier research. About 1% of people in the new study carried two copies. Because the variant is far more common than disease-causing variants in TTN, researchers estimated it accounts for about 9% of dilated cardiomyopathy in this population, more than TTN, the gene long considered the most common genetic cause.
