Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and dyslipidaemia in adult Asian Indians: A population based study from Calcutta, India

AIM: The study was aimed to determine the association of Apolipoprotein E (apo E) gene polymorphisms on lipid levels in Asian Indian population. METHODS: A total of 350 (184 males and 166 females) adult (30 years and above) Asian Indians of Calcutta and suburb participated in the study. Anthropometric measures, lipids profiles, and blood glucose measures were collected. Out of 350 subjects, a sample of 70 individuals was selected randomly for genotyping after adjusting for age and sex. The apo E gene polymorphisms were determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: The apo E polymorphism showed significant association with dyslipidaemia (P=0.0135) with ε3/4 combination has had the highest occurrence of dyslipidaemia and metabolic syndrome (MS) followed by ε4/4 <ε3/3 <ε2/4 <ε2/3 in decreasing order. CONCLUSIONS: The ε4 allele of apo E gene independent of other risk factors is associated with dyslipidaemia in particular with low HDLc and high TC: HDLc ratio.