APOE polymorphism and carotid atherosclerosis in Korean population: the Dong-gu Study and the Namwon Study.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the association between APOE polymorphism and carotid atherosclerosis in two large independent cohorts from South Korea.


METHODS
The datasets were from the Dong-gu Study (N = 9056) and the Namwon Study (N = 10,158). Carotid ultrasonography was performed to measure carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the presence of carotid plaques. The APOE polymorphism was determined by PCR-RFLP. We performed combined and separate analyses for the two datasets.


RESULTS
In the combined analysis, individuals with E2E2 or E2E3 genotype had a lower common carotid IMT compared with individuals with E3E3 genotype (0.684 mm vs. 0.736 mm, p = 0.007; 0.718 mm vs. 0.736 mm, p < 0.001, respectively). This association was very slightly attenuated but remained statistically significant after adjustment for blood lipids (0.690 mm vs. 0.736 mm, p = 0.033; 0.725 mm vs. 0.736 mm, p = 0.005, respectively). Compared with individuals with E3E3 genotype, individuals with E2E3 genotype had lower risk for carotid plaque (odds ratio (OR) = 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.75-0.93), while individuals with E3E4 genotype had a higher risk for carotid plaque (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.00-1.20). After adjustment for blood lipids, ORs of E2E3 genotype for carotid plaque was slightly attenuated but remained significant (OR = 0.87 95% CI = 0.78-0.97), while OR of E3E4 genotype were slightly attenuated and not significant (OR = 1.08, 95% CI, 0.99-1.18).


CONCLUSIONS
We found that APOE polymorphism is associated with carotid atherosclerosis and this association was partly mediated through blood lipid. Our results suggest that APOE polymorphism may influence atherosclerosis through non-lipid pathways.
['Shin|Min-Ho|MH|', 'Choi|Jin-Su|JS|', 'Rhee|Jung-Ae|JA|', 'Lee|Young-Hoon|YH|', 'Nam|Hae-Sung|HS|', 'Jeong|Seul-Ki|SK|', 'Park|Kyeong-Soo|KS|', 'Kim|Hye-Yeon|HY|', 'Ryu|So-Yeon|SY|', 'Choi|Seong-Woo|SW|', 'Kim|Hee Nam|HN|', 'Song|Hye-Rim|HR|', 'Cauley|Jane A|JA|', 'Kweon|Sun-Seog|SS|']
D000368:Aged D000483:Alleles D001057:Apolipoproteins E D044466:Asians D002339:Carotid Arteries D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness D015331:Cohort Studies D005260:Female D005838:Genotype D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D016017:Odds Ratio D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length D056910:Republic of Korea
Polymorphism Intima-media thickness Apolipoprotein E Carotid artery plaque