Markers / Gene
AGTR1
One position in this gene is readable from a home DNA test.
The salt-and-water system, and why it now works against us
rs5186 · chr3:148,459,988 · A/C · evidence: moderate
The renin-angiotensin system evolved to hold on to salt and water, which was the right instinct for almost all of human history. In an environment of abundant salt it contributes to high blood pressure, and it is the system that ACE inhibitors and angiotensin blockers act on.
| If you carry | What it means |
|---|---|
| No copies | You have the common version on both copies |
| One copy | You carry one variant copy |
| Two copies | You have the variant version on both copies |
| Ancestry group | C (the effect version) | |
|---|---|---|
| African | 2.0% | |
| American | 23.3% | |
| East Asian | 6.0% | |
| European | 27.2% | |
| South Asian | 6.9% |
1000 Genomes Project phase 3, via Ensembl, retrieved 2026-09-23. These groupings are coarse and flatten a great deal of internal diversity, particularly within Africa. A variant being common somewhere tells you where a piece of your ancestry probably comes from, and nothing else.
Where this gene fits
If you have taken a home DNA test, these positions are already in your file.
Read my file