Sun Y, Chen R, Lin S, et al. - In order to unveil the independent role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) as well as their interaction with environmental factors in coronary heart disease (CHD), researchers undertook this case–control study, involving 585 CHD patients and 585 gender- and age-matched healthy controls, from March 2015 to September 2017 in Fuzhou, China. They performed a questionnaire survey, health examination, and molecular biology laboratory testing. They profiled the expression levels of circRNAs by using microarray technology and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Higher expression levels of hsa_circ_0008507, hsa_circ_0001946 and hsa_circ_0000284 were observed in peripheral blood leukocytes in patients with CHD vs those in non-CHD cases, as confirmed via quantitative real-time-PCR. Findings revealed a close association of hsa_circ_0008507, hsa_circ_0001946, and hsa_circ_0000284, with the occurrence and development of CHD. The etiologic reasons for the occurrence and development of CHD, as identified in this study, were the combination of smoking and high hsa_circ_0008507 expression.