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Interaction of Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism With Adiponectin Levels

Henrique Nascimento, Licenciatura; Letícia Silva; Pedro Lourenço; Radka Weinfurterová, PharmD; Elisabeth Castro, PhD; Carla Rego, MD; Helena Ferreira, MD; António Guerra, MD, PhD; Alexandre Quintanilha, MD; Alice Santos-Silva, PhD; Luís Belo, PhD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009;163(11):1030-1036.

Objective  To evaluate how the lipid profile associates with apolipoprotein (apo) E gene polymorphism, plasma adiponectin level, and body mass index (BMI) z score in Portuguese youth.

Design  Transversal cohort study.

Setting  Hospital de São João and Hospital de Crianças Maria Pia, Porto, Portugal, between May 2006 and March 2007.

Participants  One hundred thirty-eight obese children and adolescents (62 boys; mean age, 10.8 years [range, 4-16 years]). Participants were grouped according to (1) apo E polymorphism: presence of the apo E alleles 2 or 4 in E2 (n = 11) and E4 (n = 31) carriers, respectively, or as E3/E3 (n = 94) (carriers of E2/E4 [n = 2] were excluded from apo E analysis because they carry both alleles) and (2) BMI z score: group 1, BMI z score less than 2 (n = 31); group 2, BMI z score of 2 or more and less than 2.5 (n = 65); and group 3, BMI z score of 2.5 or more (n = 42).

Main Outcome Measures  Lipid variable comparisons between apo E polymorphism and BMI z score groups and influence of BMI z score and adiponectin level, adjusted for apo E polymorphism, on total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apo A-I to apo B ratios.

Results  E4 carriers presented with a worse lipid profile when compared with E2 and E3/E3 carriers. There was also a clear risk of worsening for the group with the highest BMI z score. Apolipoprotein E polymorphism, BMI z score, and adiponectin level were significantly associated with total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (standardized β coefficient = 0.283, 0.354, and –0.292, respectively; P < .001 for all) and apo A-I to apo B (standardized β coefficient = –0.372, –0.284, and 0.327, respectively; P < .001 for all) ratios.

Conclusion  Our data suggest a more atherogenic lipid profile for some apo E genotypes and for increasing BMI z score, whereas adiponectin level seems to play a protective role.

Author Affiliations: Serviço de Bioquímica, Faculdade de Farmácia (Messrs Nascimento and Lourenço, Ms Silva, and Drs Castro, Santos-Silva, and Belo), Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (Mr Nascimento and Drs Quintanilha, Santos-Silva, and Belo), Unidade de Nutrição/Serviço Pediátrico, UAG-MC, Hospital de São João E.P.E. Faculdade de Medicina (Drs Rego and Guerra), and Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (Dr Quintanilha), Universidade do Porto, and Centro Hospitalar do Porto/Departamento Pediátrico, Hospital de Crianças Maria Pia (Dr Ferreira), Porto, Portugal; and Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Drug Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic (Ms Weinfurterová).

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