title: Apolipoprotein E polymorphism in middle-aged Belgian men: phenotype distribution and relation to serum lipids and lipoproteins.
abstract: Apo E phenotype was determined in 760 Belgian men, aged 35 to 59 years. Serum lipids and lipoproteins were related to the apo E polymorphism in 734 participants. By comparison with the most frequent apo E3/3 phenotype, the presence of the epsilon2 allele was associated with a lower serum total and non-HDL cholesterol, and with a lower apo B and a higher HDL cholesterol, independently of age, lifestyle factors and apo E concentration. In contrast, the presence of the epsilon4 allele was associated with a higher serum total and non-HDL cholesterol, and with a lower HDL cholesterol and a lower apo AI. The apo E phenotype explained 17.4% of the variance in apo E concentration; the proportion of the variance in total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, apo AI and apo B levels explained by the apo E polymorphism was low but statistically significant. Among the lifestyle factors, waist to hip ratio was the only variable significantly associated with apo E concentration. The data suggest that besides the well-documented increasing effect on non-HDL cholesterol, the epsilon4 allele could further predispose to coronary heart disease through a decreasing effect on HDL while the epsilon2 allele could exert a protective influence through both a decreasing effect on non-HDL cholesterol and an increasing effect on HDL cholesterol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Braeckman
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Bacquer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosseneu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Backer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D000483:Alleles; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D001824:Body Constitution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D008055:Lipids; D008074:Lipoproteins