Gender difference in apolipoprotein E-associated risk for familial Alzheimer disease: A possible clue to the higher incidence of Alzheimer disease in women

Journal Article · Mon Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1996 · American Journal of Human Genetics

OSTI ID:285063

Payami, H; Zareparsi, S; Montee, K R; Litt, M ^[1]

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1. Oregon Health Sciences Univ., Portland, OR (United States); and others

Late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) is associated with the apolipoprotein E (APOE)-{epsilon}4 allele. In late-onset familial AD, women have a significantly higher risk of developing the disease than do men. The aim of this study was to determine whether the gender difference in familial AD is a function of APOE genotype. We studied 58 late-onset familial AD kindreds. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to assess genotype-specific distributions of age at onset. Odds ratios were estimated by logistic regression with adjustment for age and by conditional logistic regression with stratification on families. All methods detected a significant gender difference for the {epsilon}4 heterozygous genotype. In women, {epsilon}4 heterozygotes had higher risk than those without {epsilon}4; there was no significant difference between {epsilon}4 heterozygotes and {epsilon}4 homozygotes. In men, {epsilon}4 heterozygotes had lower risk than {epsilon}4 homozygotes; there was no significant difference between {epsilon}4 heterozygotes and those without {epsilon}4. A direct comparison of {epsilon}4 heterozygous men and women revealed a significant two-fold increased risk in women. We confirmed these results in 15 autopsy-confirmed AD kindreds from the National Cell Repository at Indiana University Alzheimer Disease Center. These observations are consistent with the increased incidence of familial AD in women and may be a critical clue to the role of gender in the pathogenesis of AD. 53 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 285063
• Journal Information: American Journal of Human Genetics, Journal Name: American Journal of Human Genetics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 58; ISSN AJHGAG; ISSN 0002-9297
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
AGE DEPENDENCE
APOLIPOPROTEINS
DISEASE INCIDENCE
GENES
GENETIC MAPPING
GENETICS
GENOTYPE
HEREDITARY DISEASES
MENTAL DISORDERS
NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES
PATIENTS
SEX DEPENDENCE
STATISTICS