Gene-environment interactions between serine threonine kinase 39 (STK39) polymorphisms and environmental factors on essential hypertension of Mongolians

Objective To examine the association between serine threonine kinase 39 (STK39) variants (rs35929607, rs3754777, rs6749447, rs4977950) and hypertension as well as their interactions with environmental factors in Mongolians.

Methods A population-based case-control study was conducted from 2019 to 2020, enrolling 219 hypertensive and 161 normotensive Mongolian adults. Four STK39 tagging single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) were genotyped by TaqMan assay; gene–lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, tea, dietary salt) interactions were analysed with generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR).

Results  Compared with normotensive individuals, patients with hypertension exhibited a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) (26.45±4.18vs 23.62±3.49 kg/m², t = 6.968, P＜0.001), higher prevalence of hyperuricemia (19.2% vs 10.6%, χ² = 5.256, P = 0.022), elevated triglyceride levels (1.57 1.18, 2.06 vs 1.14 0.86, 1.65 mmol/L, Z = 5.210, P＜0.001, and higher rate of tea consumption (64.4% vs 54.0%, χ² = 4.139, P = 0.045). No statistically significant association was found between STK39 polymorphisms and hypertension (all P＞0.05). In interaction analyses, the GMDR model suggested a potential interaction signal between STK39 polymorphisms and tea consumption. However, logistic regression validation revealed no statistically significant interaction between STK39 polymorphisms and tea-drinking behavior after adjustment for confounders.

Conclusion Among the Mongolian population, hypertension onset is more prominently associated with metabolic and environmental factors such as obesity, high-salt diet, and dyslipidemia, while not associated with STK39 gene.