The proportion of genotypic frequencies in group I with a class L allele (L/L, L/M, and L/S) was compared with that in group II without a class L allele (M/M, M/S, and S/S). The pro- portion of genotypic frequencies in group I was significantly lower in the oldest subjects (52 (25%)) than that in the total younger (42 (40%)) and older (71 (35%)) subjects (df=2, c 2=8.84, p=0.012). Similarly, in the oldest male subjects, the proportion of genotypic frequencies in group I was signifi- cantly lower than that in the other male subjects (df=2, c 2=6.91, p=0.032). In the oldest female subjects, the proportion of genotypic frequencies in group I was also lower than that in other female subjects, although there was no sig- nificant difference (df=2, c 2=2.72,p=0.26).The odds ratio for group I in the oldest subjects versus other younger and older subjects was 0.57 (95% CI 0.39 to 0.84, p<0.005) in the total subjects and 0.50 (95% CI 0.28 to 0.89, p<0.02) in male sub- jects, respectively. Furthermore, homozygosity for the class L allele (L/L genotype) was not observed in either the male or female oldest subjects.

Correspondence to: Dr H Sasaki, Department of Geriatric and Respiratory Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan; dept@geriat.med.tohoku.ac.jp

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DISCUSSION

We screened the frequencies of alleles with varying numbers of (GT) repeats in the HO-1 gene in 512 healthy Japanese n subjects. The proportion of allelic frequencies in class L with a large (GT) repeat, as well as the genotypic frequencies in n group I with class L alleles, was significantly lower in the old- est male subjects than in the other male subjects. In contrast, in the oldest female subjects, the proportion of allelic frequen- cies in class L, as well as the genotypic frequencies in group I with class L alleles, did not differ from that in other female subjects.

The precise reason is uncertain why the size of a (GT) n repeat in the HO-1 gene promoter was not associated with the longevity of female subjects. However, many studies have shown that men and women follow different paths to attain longevity.11 12 This survival gene polymorphism may be less important in females, although several gender specifics have been reported to prevent the attainment of old age in female subjects.11 The present study suggests that a large (GT) repeat n

Relationship between microsatellite polymorphism in the haem oxygenase-1 gene promoter and longevity of the normal Japanese population

M Yamaya, K Nakayama, S Ebihara, H Hirai, S Higuchi and H Sasaki

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