THE ROLE OF THE APOLIPOPROTEIN-E POLYMORPHISM IN THE PREDICTION OF CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE AGE-OF-ONSET

We investigated the role of the apolipoprotein (Apo) E polymorphism in the prediction of CAD age of onset in a sample of unrelated living ma le (n = 65) and female (n = 54) Caucasian subjects diagnosed with CAD. Cumulative distributions of age at the first diagnosis of CAD were es timated for each Apo E genotype and tested for homogeneity using the l og-rank test. The Apo epsilon 33 genotype was used as a reference grou p for all hypothesis tests. Analyses were performed separately in male s and females. We found evidence suggesting that the presence of the A po epsilon 32 genotype in males is associated with a significantly ear lier CAD age of onset. These results suggest that the Apo E polymorphi sm may be a gender-specific predictor of CAD age of onset.