{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03912363067292645, 'fraction_numerical': 0.029212310902451747, 'mean_word_length': 4.641176470588236, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Genetic Polymorphism of Adenosine Deaminase and Early Neonatal Events: Is There an Association with Susceptibility to Coronary Artery Disease in Adult Life?

p = 0.006) in those who have not undergone such treatment (total n = 662). In the study of Safranow et al. [3] , the proportion of carriers of the ADA * 2 allele with CAD (total n = 171) is 5.9% compared to 13.5% The developmental origin of the cardiovascular disease theory [1] is supported by the inverse association between birth weight (BW) and coronary artery diseases (CAD). At present, however, factors underlying the association of developmental events with CAD and associated diseases are unknown [2] . Genetic factors acting in the early stages of development could play an important role. Recently, an association between the adenosine deaminase locus 1 (ADA 1 ) genetic polymorphism and CAD has been published in Cardiology [3] : the ADA * 2 allele is less frequent in subjects with CAD than in controls ( fig. 1 ). We have shown that genetic variability in ADA influences neonatal bilirubin levels. The ADA * 2 allele in particular is more common in newborns with higher serum bilirubin levels than in those with lower levels [4] . Several studies indicate a beneficial action of bilirubin in the neonatal period due to its protective effect from secondary oxidant formed in the oxidative process [5] . Since the newborn is particularly susceptible to oxidative damage, the effect of the ADA * 2 allele on bilirubin levels could induce protection against oxidative damage and in turn long-term protective effects on CAD in adult life. In our study, the proportion of ADA * 2 allele carriers in newborns who have undergone phototherapy for hyperbilirubinemia during the first few days of life (total n = 123) is 23.6% compared to 13.7% ( fig. 2 ; Received: February 25, 2009 Accepted after revision: February 27, 2009 Published online: May 7, 2009