Cited by 1,173Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchGenetic Associations and Epidemiology

Effects of Age, Sex, and Ethnicity on the Association Between Apolipoprotein E Genotype and Alzheimer Disease: A Meta-analysis

Farrer, Lindsay A.·1997·JAMA

Abstract

Objective. —To examine more closely the association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype and Alzheimer disease (AD) by age and sex in populations of various ethnic and racial denominations. Data Sources. —Forty research teams contributed data onAPOEgenotype, sex, age at disease onset, and ethnic background for 5930 patients who met criteria for probable or definite AD and 8607 controls without dementia who were recruited from clinical, community, and brain bank sources. Main Outcome Measures. —Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (Cls) for AD, adjusted for age and study and stratified by major ethnic group (Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Japanese) and source, were computed forAPOEgenotypes ∈2/∈2,∈2/∈3,∈2/∈4,∈3/∈4 and ∈4/∈4 relative to the ∈3/∈3 group. The influence of age and sex on the OR for each genotype was assessed using logistic regression procedures. Results. —Among Caucasian subjects from clinic- or autopsy-based studies, the risk of AD was significantly increased for people with genotypes ∈2/∈4 (OR=2.6, 95% Cl=1.6-4.0), ∈3/∈4 (OR=3.2, 95% Cl=2.8-3.8), and ∈4/∈4 (OR=14.9, 95% CI=10.8-20.6); whereas, the ORs were decreased for people with genotypes ∈2/∈2 (OR=0.6, 95% Cl=0.2-2.0) and ∈2/∈3 (OR=0.6, 95% Cl=0.5-0.8). TheAPOE∈4-AD association was weaker among African Americans and Hispanics, but there was significant heterogeneity in ORs among studies of African Americans (P<.03). TheAPOE∈4—AD association in Japanese subjects was stronger than in Caucasian subjects (∈3/∈4: OR=5.6, 95% Cl=3.9-8.0; ∈4/∈4: OR=33.1, 95% Cl=13.6-80.5). The ∈2/∈3 genotype appears equally protective across ethnic groups. We also found that among Caucasians,APOEgenotype distributions are similar in groups of patients with AD whose diagnoses were determined clinically or by autopsy. In addition, we found that theAPOE∈4 effect is evident at all ages between 40 and 90 years but diminishes after age 70 years and that the risk of AD associated with a given genotype varies with sex. Conclusions. —TheAPOE∈4 allele represents a major risk factor for AD in all ethnic groups studied, across all ages between 40 and 90 years, and in both men and women. The association betweenAPOE∈4 and AD in African Americans requires clarification, and the attenuated effect ofAPOE∈4 in Hispanics should be investigated further.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1001/jama.1997.03550160069041

Cites

0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The greatest risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's are older age, genetics (especially the e4 form of the APOE gene), and having a family history of Alzheimer's.

    “The greatest risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's are older age, 62,63 genetics 64,65 -especially the e4 form of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene -and having a family history of Alzheimer's.[66][67][68][69]”

    From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [65]

  • APOE4 homozygotes are at the highest risk of Alzheimer's dementia.

    “such that APOE4 homozygotes are at the highest risk”
  • Previous studies of clinically and neuropathologically characterized cases and controls may have been too small to demonstrate that APOE2 homozygotes have an even lower odds ratio than the relatively low-risk APOE2/3 group due to the paucity of APOE2 homozygotes, who comprise <1% of the general population.

    “Also, previous studies of clinically and neuropathologically characterized cases and controls may have been too small to demonstrate that APOE2 homozygotes have an even lower OR than the relatively low-risk APOE2/3 group due to the paucity of APOE2 homozygotes, who comprise <1% of the general population1,4.”
  • Compared to the APOE3/3 genotype, each additional copy of the APOE4 allele is associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's dementia and a younger mean age at dementia onset.

    “Compared to the most common APOE3/3 genotype, each additional copy of the APOE4 allele is associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s dementia and a younger mean age at dementia onset, such that APOE4 homozygotes are at the highest risk”
  • APOE is the major susceptibility gene for late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

    “Apolipoprotein E (APOE), the major susceptibility gene for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD), has three common alleles (APOE2, 3, and 4), giving rise to six genotypes (APOE2/2, 2/3, 3/3, 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4).”

Cites

The publisher hasn’t deposited this paper’s reference list.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Farrer, L. A.
Corresponding author
Farrer, Lindsay A.
Venue
JAMA
Published
1997-10-22
Volume
278
Issue
16
Pages
1349
ISSN
  • 0002-9955 (ISSN-L)
  • 0098-7484
OpenAlex
W7028228764
Cited by
124
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 4
FWCI
0.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • JAMA (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • Florence Research (University of Florence) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
Keywords
apolipoprotein E, APOE ε4, Alzheimer's disease, genetic risk, age of onset, sex differences, ethnic differences, African Americans, Hispanic population, Japanese population, genetic heterogeneity, dementia risk

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review