Pharmacogenomic biomarkers of ACE inhibitor-induced cough in a multi-ethnic UAE cohort.

Background and objectives: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) are widely used to manage hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. However, dry cough is a common side effect, affecting 5%-35% of patients and often leading to discontinuation. This study aimed to investigate genetic variants involved in ACEI-induced cough and ACE plasma levels in UAE multi-ethnic hypertensive patients. Method: The study cohort was pragmatically selected from the larger EmHeart Study (n = 900), a UAE-based pharmacogenomic initiative. Patients prescribed ACEIs were screened for inclusion. This multi-center, retrospective exploratory study involved genotyping 107 patients treated with ACEIs, including n = 35 in the cough group and n = 72 in the non-cough group. Variants of Results: We found that the Conclusion and limitations: Our data showed a significant association between ACEI-induced cough and the ACE rs1799752 I/D genotype, as well as lower ACE plasma levels in the cough group. This is the first study in the UAE and Middle East to report such findings and include all these variants in a single analysis. Although the sample size is small, our results contribute cumulative evidence on the genetic predisposition to ACEI-induced cough among hypertensive patients.