Lack of association between <i>I/D</i> dimorphism in the <i>АСЕ</i> gene and success in a chosen sport

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, numerous attempts have been made to identify genes that determine various morphofunctional and psychophysiological traits associated with outstanding athletic performance. One of the first to be studied in sports genetics is the insertion/deletion dimorphism in the angiotensin I–converting enzyme (ACE I/D) gene. AIM: To evaluate the utility of the ACE gene I/D dimorphism (rs1799752) as a predictive marker of exceptional athletic achievement, based on an analysis of the available scientific sources. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 studies were retrieved using the keywords in PubMed, Google Scholar, and eLIBRARY, of which 47 were excluded from analysis due to the lack of control group data. The final sample included 13,776 individuals (3536 athletes and 10,240 controls). RESULTS: A statistically significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was detected in nine cases in the athlete subgroups and in six controls (mid-p 0.05). In 56 cases, the fixation index (FIS) significantly deviated from zero, indicating either inbreeding, outbreeding, and/or an excessively wide 95% confidence interval—suggesting probable genotyping errors. Meta-analysis was performed using the MetaGenyo online software. The dominant model yielded the most significant findings. However, even in this case, the obtained odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were either practically negligible or characterized by excessively wide confidence ranges. In addition to standard pooled effect estimation (odds ratio), 95% prediction intervals were also calculated, which were 0.58 to 1.15. CONCLUSION: No sport or athletic specialization was identified in which the ACE gene I/D dimorphism could serve as a reliable marker for predicting individual predisposition to high athletic performance.