IQ, Educational Attainment, Memory and Plasma Lipids: Associations with Apolipoprotein E Genotype in 5995 Children

Overview

Journal Biol Psychiatry

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2011 Jan 11

PMID 21215387

Citations 21

Authors

Amy E Taylor

Philip A I Guthrie

George Davey Smith

Jean Golding

Naveed Sattar

Aroon D Hingorani

John E Deanfield

Ian N M Day

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype (ε2/ε3/ε4: rs429358 ε4 allele; rs7412 ε2 allele) is strongly associated with both lipid levels and Alzheimer's disease. Although there is also evidence of milder cognitive impairment in later life in carriers of the APOE ε4 allele, there have been few studies investigating the impact of APOE genotype on cognitive function in children.

Methods: We determined APOE genotype in 5995 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and investigated associations between APOE genotype and plasma lipids (at age 9), IQ (at age 8), memory (at ages 8 and 10), and performance in school attainment tests (at ages 7, 11, and 14).

Results: Observed genotype group counts were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (χ(2)p value = .84). There were strong relationships between APOE genotype and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides, which follow the same patterns as in adults. There was no strong evidence to suggest that APOE genotype was associated with IQ (all p values ≥ .46), memory function (p ≥ .35), or school attainment test results (p ≥ .28).

Conclusion: Although APOE genotype does have strong associations with lipid levels in childhood, there does not seem to be meaningful effects on cognitive performance, suggesting that any detrimental effects of the ε4 allele on cognitive function are not important until later life.

Citing Articles

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APOE ε4 carriage associates with improved myocardial performance from adolescence to older age.

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Lipid Biomarkers and Atherosclerosis-Old and New in Cardiovascular Risk in Childhood.

Mocnik M, Marcun Varda N Int J Mol Sci. 2023; 24(3).

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APOE2: protective mechanism and therapeutic implications for Alzheimer's disease.

Li Z, Shue F, Zhao N, Shinohara M, Bu G Mol Neurodegener. 2020; 15(1):63.

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Genetic Burden for Late-Life Neurodegenerative Disease and Its Association With Early-Life Lipids, Brain, Behavior, and Cognition.

Lamballais S, Muetzel R, Ikram M, Tiemeier H, Vernooij M, White T Front Psychiatry. 2020; 11:33.

PMID: 32116848 PMC: 7018686. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00033.

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