ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN DIETARY FACTORS AND SERUM-LIPIDS BY APOLIPOPROTEIN-E POLYMORPHISM

A geographically based observational study of 852 nondiabetic Hispanic and non-Hispanic white persons in southern Colorado aged 20-74 y was conducted to determine whether diet-lipid associations were modified b y the apolipoprotein E (apoE, protein; APOE, gene) polymorphism. Subje cts were seen for up to three visits from 1984 to 1992. A 24-h diet re call was collected and fasting serum lipid concentrations were measure d at all visits. In longitudinal-regression analyses, dietary factors were significantly associated with serum lipid concentrations in the d irections expected based on the large amount of literature on this top ic. The positive relation between dietary cholesterol and serum total and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol was strongest in Hispanic subj ects with the APOE2 allele (E2/2,3/2 genotypes) and non-Hispanic whit e subjects with the APOE3 allele (E3/3 genotype), and there was no as sociation in subjects with the APOE4 allele (E4/3,4/4 genotypes) in e ither ethnic group. No other statistically significant differences in the relations between dietary factors and serum lipid concentrations b y APOE polymorphism were identified. These findings suggest that the A POE polymorphism plays only a minor role in modifying the association between dietary factors and serum lipids.