A Y chromosome variant, which may have been spread by the Vikings, puts men at increased risk from coronary heart disease, British researchers have reported.
The men with the I1 variant face an 11% risk of disease, the conference of the European Society of Cardiology in Munich, Germany, was told.
Manchester University researchers reported their findings, which come from a study of 129,000 men in the UK Biobank.
About 13% of men carry the variant in the UK and it is common in Northern Europe.
The study linked the variant to changes in the immune system, blood clotting and cholesterol processing.
Researcher Dr James Eales said: “Recent advances in the field of genetics have made it increasingly easy for us all to unlock the secrets of our genetic makeup.
“With the advent of access to large population-based resources such as UK Biobank and access to cutting-edge technologies, we can gain very deep insights into the genetic risk of coronary artery disease.”
Fellow researcher Professor Maciej Tomaszewski said: “All previously conducted large genetic studies excluded the Y chromosome from the analysis of association with human health and disease.
“Our project provides important evidence for the role of the Y chromosome in one of the most common human disorders – coronary heart disease.”
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