Apolipoprotein E allele frequencies in an Italian population: relation to age and lipid profile.
Apo E phenotype and plasma Tg, Chol, LDL-Chol, HDL-Chol and Apo B levels were determined in a sample of 228 healthy Italian subjects (124 men and 104 women) aged 18-93. The allele frequencies were: epsilon 2 = 0.070; epsilon 3 = 0.829; epsilon 4 = 0.101 (among the lowest values in the literature). Division of the sample into four age groups indicated that epsilon 4 frequency decreased with age to 0 in persons aged over 75. Covariance analysis of the influence of each allele on plasma lipids showed that epsilon 4 was significantly associated with the highest Chol, LDL-Chol and Apo B levels. These data are evidence of the influence of epsilon 4 on Chol metabolism in an Italian population. They also show that its frequency decreases with age.
Istituto di Medicina Interna, Università di Torino, Italy.
G
G
Ruiu
M
M
Cassader
R
R
Gambino
N
N
Alemanno
F
F
Demichieli
A
A
Pagano
F
F
Veglia
G
G
Pagano
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000483:Alleles; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D008055:Lipids