PubMed ID: 16815257
Author(s): Liew G, Shankar A, Wang JJ, Klein R, Bray MS, Couper DJ, Wong TY. Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphisms are not associated with diabetic retinopathy: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Am J Ophthalmol. 2006 Jul;142(1):105-11. PMID 16815257
Journal: American Journal Of Ophthalmology, Volume 142, Issue 1, Jul 2006
PURPOSE Polymorphism of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene has been associated with dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease. This study examines the association of APOE polymorphisms and diabetic retinopathy.
DESIGN Population-based cross-sectional study.
METHODS We studied 1,398 people aged 49 to 73 years with diabetes selected from four United States communities. We performed retinal photography on one randomly selected eye and graded for the presence and severity of diabetic retinopathy using a modification of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study scale. We performed genotyping of common polymorphic APOE alleles using polymerase chain reaction on genomic DNA from venous blood leukocytes.
RESULTS The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and hard exudates was 15.0% and 5.3% in Caucasians (n = 935), and 24.6% and 9.7% in African-Americans (n = 463), with type 2 diabetes. APOE gene polymorphisms were not associated with diabetic retinopathy in either Caucasians or African-Americans. In African-Americans, the 2/4 genotype (n = 6) was associated with increased prevalence of hard exudates (odds ratio [OR] 4.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30 to 12.90), as was the 2/3 genotype (n = 9, OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.01 to 6.95). No association between APOE genotypes and hard exudates was found in Caucasians.
CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that APOE gene polymorphisms are not associated with diabetic retinopathy in either Caucasians or African-Americans with type 2 diabetes.