Variations in apolipoprotein E frequency with age in a pooled analysis of a large group of older people. Review uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Variation in the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) has been reported to be associated with longevity in humans. The authors assessed the allelic distribution of APOE isoforms ε2, ε3, and ε4 among 10,623 participants from 15 case-control and cohort studies of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in populations of European ancestry (study dates ranged from 1990 to 2009). The authors included only the 10,623 control subjects from these studies who were classified as having no evidence of AMD, since variation within the APOE gene has previously been associated with AMD. In an analysis stratified by study center, gender, and smoking status, there was a decreasing frequency of the APOE ε4 isoform with increasing age (χ(2) for trend = 14.9 (1 df); P = 0.0001), with a concomitant increase in the ε3 isoform (χ(2) for trend = 11.3 (1 df); P = 0.001). The association with age was strongest in ε4 homozygotes; the frequency of ε4 homozygosity decreased from 2.7% for participants aged 60 years or less to 0.8% for those over age 85 years, while the proportion of participants with the ε3/ε4 genotype decreased from 26.8% to 17.5% across the same age range. Gender had no significant effect on the isoform frequencies. This study provides strong support for an association of the APOE gene with human longevity.

authors

publication date

  • April 15, 2011

Research

keywords

  • Apolipoproteins E
  • Gene Frequency
  • Macular Degeneration
  • White People

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC3145394

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 79958786623

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1093/aje/kwr015

PubMed ID

  • 21498624

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 173

issue

  • 12