Association between APOE Genotype and Change in Physical Function in a Population-Based Swedish Cohort of Older Individuals Followed Over Four Years.

Ingmar Skoog,Lena Johansson,Henrik Zetterberg,Svante Östling,Anna Zettergren,Kerstin Frändin,Kaj Blennow,Helena Hörder

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2016.00225

Ingmar Skoog, Lena Johansson + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00225

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Abstract

The association between decline in physical function and age-related conditions, such as reduced cognitive performance and vascular disease, may be explained by genetic influence on shared biological pathways of importance for aging. The apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is well-known for its association with Alzheimer’s disease, but has also been related to other disorders of importance for aging. The aim of this study was to investigate possible associations between APOE allele status and physical function in a population-based longitudinal study of older individuals. In 2005, at the age of 75, 622 individuals underwent neuropsychiatric and physical examinations, including tests of physical function, and APOE-genotyping. Follow-up examinations were performed at age 79. A significantly larger decline in grip strength (p = 0.015) between age 75 and 79 was found when comparing APOE 𝜀4 allele carriers with non-carriers [10.3 (±10.8) kg versus 7.8 (±10.1) kg]. No association was seen with decline in gait speed, chair-stand, or balance. The association with grip strength remained after correction for cognitive and educational level, depression, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and BMI.

Highlights

The apolipoprotein (APOE) gene, encoding apolipoprotein E (APOE) involved in lipid metabolism, is a wellestablished risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Corder et al, 1993; Poirier et al, 1993; Kandimalla et al, 2011, 2013; Yu et al, 2014)
The difference in percentage of APOE ε4 carriers between age 75 and 79 (Table 1) can at least partly be explained by the fact that a non-significantly larger percentage of APOE ε4 carriers, who participated at age 75, had died or declined to participate at age 79, compared to noncarriers
In the cross-sectional analyses, no association was found between APOE ε4 status and physical function at age 75, while a significant association was found with grip strength (p = 0.006) at age 79 years (Table 3)

Summary

Introduction

The apolipoprotein (APOE) gene, encoding APOE involved in lipid metabolism, is a wellestablished risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Corder et al, 1993; Poirier et al, 1993; Kandimalla et al, 2011, 2013; Yu et al, 2014). Associations between APOE ε4 and worse performance on cognitive tests, especially in old populations, have been reported (Caselli et al, 2009; Wisdom et al, 2011; Davies et al, 2014). The ε4 allele is a risk factor for other conditions that mainly affect older individuals, such as atherosclerosis (Zhu et al, 2016) and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (Lehtinen et al, 1995; McCarron et al, 1999; APOE and Physical Function in Old Age. Zlokovic, 2013). In view of the above mentioned associations between the APOE gene and several age-related disorders, it is not farfetched to suggest that this gene affects physical function

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