Despite the numerous common pathways connecting blood pressure regulation to
somatostatin (SST) metabolism, the SST gene has never been seen as a significant blood pressure modulator. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between a
poly-T repeat sequence (rs34872250) in the promoter of the SST gene and blood pressure, according to the
obesity status. We genotyped 1918 French-Canadian subjects from a founder population. Analyses were performed according to the length of the
poly-T repeat sequence on both alleles and divided into two groups, the 13/13-13/14 group and the 13/15-13/16 group. The effect of age, gender, body mass index,
antihypertensive drugs and diabetic status were considered. Systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressures are significantly higher among the 13/15-13/16 group in the whole sample (P<0.05). Whereas the differences remain significant in women, they turn to be non-significant when men are considered alone. The risk of
hypertension is increased in the 13/15-13/16 group, particularly among
overweight/obese subjects. Systolic blood pressure is significantly higher among
overweight/obese carriers of the 13/15-13/16 alleles in the whole sample (P<0.001), in men (P=0.006) and in women (P=0.002), even after correction for age and
antihypertensive drugs. These results suggest that the
poly-T repeat sequence polymorphism in the promoter of the SST gene is associated with significant variations of blood pressure and could modulate the risk of
hypertension, particularly among women.