The Gender- and Age-dependency of the Risk for Alzheimer s Disease Conferred by Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism in Koreans

Objectives-The aim of this study is to examine the impact of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism on the risk of Alzheimer s disease (AD) in Koreans. Materials and Methods-We determined the APOE genotype of 303 probable AD patients and 1,052 non-demented normal controls, and compared their genotypic and allelic frequencies. Then, we determined the odds ratios for AD of the APOE polymorphism in the subjects, stratified by age and gender. Results-The APOE 4 allele was more prevalent in the AD patients than in the controls (P<0.0001). The APOE 4 allele increased the risk of AD in a dose-dependent manner; the odds ratios for AD of the APOE 4-heterozygous and the APOE 4-homozygous subjects were 3.9 (95% CI=2.8-5.3) and 15.6 (95% CI=6.6-36.7), respectively. The APOE 4-conferred AD risk was also dependent on the age and gender of the subjects; the odds ratios for AD were highest in the subjects aged 75-79 years and higher in the women than in the men. Conclusions-The APOE 4 allele is a significant genetic risk factor for AD and confers the AD risk in a dose-, age- and genderdependent manner in Koreans.