title: ApoE Polymorphisms and the Risk of Different Subtypes of Stroke in the Chinese Population: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Numerous studies have evaluated the association between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene polymorphisms and the risk of different subtypes of stroke. However, the results remain uncertain, and few sources of data specific to the Chinese ethnic population contribute to these outstanding questions. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to derive a more comprehensive estimate of the association between ApoE polymorphisms and stroke risk in the Chinese population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control studies in Chinese and English publications were identified by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, China Nation Knowledge Infrastructure Platform, Wanfang, and VIP databases and by hand-searching relevant journals and the reference lists of the retrieved articles. ORs and 95% CIs were applied to assess the strength of the associations. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore between-study heterogeneity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Evidence of a significant association was found between the ApoE ε4 allele and different subtypes of stroke (for ischemic stroke (IS): OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.90-2.52, p < 0.001; for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH): OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.57-2.75, p < 0.001; and for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH): OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.28-3.23, p = 0.003) among the Chinese population. In addition, a significant difference in the risk for different subtypes of stroke between ε4 carriers and ε3ε3 genotype carriers was found (for IS: OR 2.41, 95% CI 2.00-2.89, p < 0.001; for ICH: OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.68-3.47, p < 0.001; and for SAH: OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.21-3.45, p = 0.008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ApoE ε4 allele may predict an increased risk for different subtypes of stroke, including IS, ICH and SAH, in the Chinese population, and the results of this genotypic analysis may help to identify populations at an increased risk for stroke. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, PR China.
authors.forename: Chunli
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhiping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000235:genetics; D002681:China; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C000612345:ApoE protein, human; D001057:Apolipoproteins E