Research Article Association of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Insertion-Deletion Polymorphism with Hypertension in Emiratis with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Interaction with Obesity Status Habiba Alsafar, 1 Ahmed Hassoun, 2 Shaikha Almazrouei, 1 Wala Kamal, 3 Mustafa Almaini, 4 Unini Odama, 5 and Naushad Rais 3 1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science, Technology & Research, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2 Dubai Diabetes Centre, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, UAE 3 School of Life Sciences, Manipal University, P.O. Box 345050, Dubai, UAE 4 Immunology Clinics, Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE 5 Landmark Nephrology and Hypertension Clinic, Talladega, AL, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Naushad Rais; naushad@manipaldubai.com Received 17 June 2015; Accepted 12 August 2015 Academic Editor: Fabrizia Bamonti Copyright © 2015 Habiba Alsafar et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te association of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) insertion-deletion (I/D) polymorphism with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension has been extensively studied throughout various ethnic populations but largely with inconsistent fndings. We investigated these associations in Emirati population and their interaction with obesity status. Saliva samples were collected from a total of 564 Emiratis (277 T2DM and 297 healthy). DNA was extracted and the samples were genotyped for ACE I/D polymorphism by a PCR based method followed by gel electrophoresis. Upon evaluation of the ACE I/D polymorphism amongst all T2DM, hypertensive patients, and respective controls regardless of obesity status, ACE DD genotype was not found to be associated with either T2DM [odds ratio (OR) = 1.34,  = 0.086] or hypertension [odd ratio (OR) = 1.02,  = 0.93]. When the genetic variants amongst the nonobese and obese population were analyzed separately, the risk genotype ACE DD conferred signifcantly increased risk of hypertension in nonobese population [odds ratio (OR) = 1.80,  = 0.02] but was found to be protective against the hypertension in the obese group ((OR) = 0.54,  = 0.01). However, there was no efect of obesity status on the association of ACE genotypes with T2DM. Te risk of hypertension associated with ACE DD is modulated by obesity status and hence future genetic association studies should take obesity into account for the interpretation of data. We also confrmed that ACE I/D polymorphism is not associated with T2DM risk in Emirati population. 1. Introduction Te clustering of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), hyper- tension, and obesity along with dyslipidemia is termed metabolic syndrome which is prevalent in populations of modernized nations. Hypertension is common and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular (CVD) and coronary heart disease, particularly when associated with diabetes [1, 2]. Te rising prevalence has been attributed to sedentary lifestyle related factors; however, genetic predisposition may play a vital role in the etiology and manifestation of the disease [3–5]. Recently, an ample amount of studies has focused on genetic variants in Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS) in association with the components of metabolic syndrome, especially hypertension and T2DM [6–8]. Te association between insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and the RAAS independent of plasma potassium and cor- tisol levels has been shown [9] and has been implicated in the development of cardiovascular and renal diseases in T2DM [10]. Most of these studies have focused on Hindawi Publishing Corporation Disease Markers Volume 2015, Article ID 536041, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/536041