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Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is linked with cardiovascular disease

Hypertension Research volume 43, pages 582–584 (2020)Cite this article

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common diverse X-linked human enzymopathy genetic trait. Males are either G6PD-deficient or normal, but females exhibit a broader range of G6PD deficiency ranging from severe deficiency to normal. An estimated 400 million people are affected by G6PD deficiency globally, and ~160 identified amino acid missense variants cause G6PD deficiency, which is more prevalent in the African continent, Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia.

Both male hemizygotes and female homozygotes with G6PD gene deficiency manifest show significantly reduced G6PD enzyme activity, while 80% of female heterozygotes show moderately reduced G6PD enzyme activity. G6PD deficiency risk in females is poorly understood and perhaps often underestimated, and there is a long-standing gender disparity in terms of G6PD deficiency data. In previous studies, G6PD deficiency was investigated in male subjects, but in a recent and exciting cross-sectional study published in Hypertension Research, Zhao et al. [1] showed that 154,917 G6PD-deficient females aged 20–49 had a higher risk of elevated blood pressure and hypertension during prepregnancy and pregnancy periods. In addition, they showed that G6PD deficiency was more obviously associated with systolic blood pressure.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the funding provided by the Malcolm W. Feist Cardiovascular Research Fellowship from the Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences (CCDS), LSUHSC, Shreveport, to RP and the Endowed Chair in Diabetes to SKJ.

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  1. Department of Pediatrics and Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA, 71130, USA

    Rajesh Parsanathan & Sushil K. Jain

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Correspondence to Sushil K. Jain.

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Parsanathan, R., Jain, S.K. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is linked with cardiovascular disease. Hypertens Res 43, 582–584 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-020-0402-8

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