The gender-specific apolipoprotein E genotype influence on the distribution of lipids and apolipoproteins in the population of Rochester, MN. I. Pleiotropic effects on means and variances

Abstract

The influences of the apolipoprotein E (Apo E) polymorphism and of gender on the distributions of plasma levels of total cholesterol (Total-C), ln triglycerides (lnTrig), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), and apolipoproteins AI (Apo AI), AII (Apo AII), ln E (lnApo E), B (Apo B), CII (Apo CII), and ln CIII (lnApo CIII) were studied in 507 unrelated individuals representative of the adult population of Rochester, MN. Apo E genotypes influenced both phenotypic level and intragenotype phenotypic variability. The mean levels of six of the nine traits were influenced significantly by Apo E genotype. Intragenotype variability in eight of the nine traits was significantly different among Apo E genotypes. These effects were estimated separately in males and females. The contribution of allelic variation in the Apo E gene to the definition of the multivariate mean and variance of the lipid and apolipoprotein hyperspace was evaluated. These findings were used to demonstrate how heterogeneity of risk-factor-trait variance among genotype/gender-specific subgroups of the population at large may influence the evaluation of risk of coronary artery disease.