Objective
Metabolic syndrome (MetS), characterized by abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and insulin resistance is a major public health concern in the United States. The effects of Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) polymorphism on MetS are not well established.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study consisting of 1,551 participants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Family Heart Study to assess the relation of Apo E polymorphism with the prevalence of MetS. MetS was defined according to the AHA-NHLBI-IDF-WHO Harmonized Criteria. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate adjusted odds ratios for prevalent MetS and the Bonferroni correction to account for multiple testing in the secondary analysis.
Results
Our study population had a mean age (SD) of 56.5 (11.0) years and 49.7% had MetS. There was no association between the Apo E genotypes and MetS. The multivariable adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 1.00 (reference), 1.26 (0.31-5.21), 0.89 (0.62-1.29), 1.13 (0.61-2.10), 1.13 (0.88-1.47), and 1.87 (0.91-3.85) for the ε3/ε3, ε2/ε2, ε2/ε3, ε2/ε4, ε3/ε4, and ε4/ε4 genotypes, respectively. In a secondary analysis, ε2/ε3 genotype was associated with 41% lower prevalence odds of low HDL [multivariable adjusted ORs (95% CI) = 0.59 (0.36-0.95)] compared to ε3/ε3 genotype.
Conclusions
Our findings do not support an association between Apo E polymorphism and MetS in a multi-center population based study of predominantly white US men and women.