BIOLOGICAL VARIATIONS AND GENETIC REFERENCE VALUES FOR APOLIPOPROTEIN-E SERUM CONCENTRATIONS - RESULTS FROM THE STANISLAS COHORT STUDY

Serum apolipoprotein (apo) E concentrations were determined by immunot urbidimetry in 4284 subjects from 4 to 71 years of age and belonging t o 1003 nuclear families recruited for the STANISLAS cohort study betwe en January 1994 and August 1995. Values for apo E ranged from 16 to 16 9 mg/L, with a geometric mean +/- SD values of 46.6 +/- 13.8 mg/L in t he overall sample. The interindividual variability varied from 24.6% t o 32.0% among family members. Females exhibited higher apo E values th an males until the age of 17-26 years. Conversely, after the age of 26 years, serum apo E concentrations were higher in men than in women. B iological factors affecting serum apo E concentrations were described in fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters and explained up to 32.0% of the apo E variability in daughters and 19.0% in fathers. The main biol ogical factors affecting apo E concentrations were the following: apo E polymorphism, waist-to-hip ratio, oral contraceptive intake, puberty , body mass index, age, and gender. Given the importance of apo E poly morphism in the regulation of apo E concentrations, we recommend the u se of genetic-based reference values for the clinical interpretation o f serum apo E concentrations.