IMPACT OF APOLIPOPROTEIN-E GENOTYPE VARIATION ON MEANS, VARIANCES, AND CORRELATIONS OF PLASMA-LIPID, LIPOPROTEIN, AND APOLIPOPROTEIN TRAITSIN OCTOGENARIANS

The impact of apolipoprotein (ape) E genotype variation on means, vari ances and correlations between plasma lipid traits was studied in male and female octogenarians, Females had significantly higher mean level s of all 10 of the measured plasma lipid traits than males. The subset of concomitants (i.e., age, height, weight, body mass index, glucose and uric acid) that made a statistically significant contribution to i nterindividual variability was different in males and females for ever y trait considered. Gender-specific associations between variation in apo E genotype and variation in particular measures of lipid metabolis m, adjusted for concomitant variation, were observed: in females there were no statistically significant associations while in males the mea ns of the three common apo E genotypes were significantly different fo r adjusted measures of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein chol esterol and low density lipoprotein-apo B. The common apo E genotypes were heterogeneous with respect to intragenotypic variance for adjuste d log-transformed triglyceride levels in females only. Finally, the th ree common apo E genotypes were heterogeneous with respect to the corr elation between traits, adjusted for concomitant variation, and gender influenced the manner in which the genotypes differed for specific co rrelations, This study documents that variation in the apo E gene has a significant impact on means, variances and correlations of plasma li pid traits in octogenarians, but the effects are context-, that is, ge nder- and age-, dependent. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.