title: Effects of the APOE ε4 allele and education on cognitive function in Japanese centenarians.
abstract: Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele and education have been reported to affect the cognitive function in young-old adults. However, the effects and interactions of the ε4 allele and education on cognitive function in very old age, particularly in centenarians, are not well known. We studied 542 Japanese centenarians. Using the data in total of 452 participants (74 men and 378 women, mean age 103.6 ± 3.2 years) who were genotyped and assessed cognitive function with the Mini-Mental States Examination (MMSE), we examined the effects and interactions of the ε4 allele and education on the MMSE score. First, we coded education as three levels: low, middle, and high based on the formal educational levels (analysis 1). Second, to clarify the modifying effect of education, we adopted a new coding for education into two levels, considering a periodical background (around 1900) of gender differences in educational attainments (analysis 2). In analysis 1, the main effects of the ε4 allele and education on the MMSE score were significant after adjusting for age. Further, there was a significant three-way interaction effect between the ε4 allele, education, and gender on the MMSE. Analysis 2 showed that the modifying effect of the ε4 allele by education was observed only in women with the ε4 allele. These findings suggest that both the APOE ε4 allele and education appear to be associated with cognitive function even in centenarians, but the interaction between the ε4 allele and education might depend on gender in this cohort.
authors: Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakaemachi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan. ishioka@tmig.or.jp.
authors: Yoshiko Lily
authors: YL
authors: Ishioka
authors: Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, 1-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
authors: Yasuyuki
authors: Y
authors: Gondo
authors: Graduate School of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, 1-1 Hiraka-gakuendai, Inzai-shi, Chiba, 270-1695, Japan.
authors: Noriyuki
authors: N
authors: Fuku
authors: Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakaemachi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan.
authors: Hiroki
authors: H
authors: Inagaki
authors: Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakaemachi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan.
authors: Yukie
authors: Y
authors: Masui
authors: Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
authors: Michiyo
authors: M
authors: Takayama
authors: Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
authors: Yukiko
authors: Y
authors: Abe
authors: Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
authors: Yasumichi
authors: Y
authors: Arai
authors: Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
authors: Nobuyoshi
authors: N
authors: Hirose
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D000483:Alleles; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics*; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D004247:DNA
keywords: APOE; Centenarian; Cognition; Gene–environment interaction