Difference in apolipoprotein E genotype distribution between dentate and edentulous elderly patients with Alzheimer disease

Abstract

Association between dementia and tooth loss has been shown although the nature of that association is not clear. It has also been shown that risk of dementia was increased in apolipoprotein E4 allele carriers. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of APOE alleles and their association with the dental status in elderly demented patients. Dental status of 67 patients with dementia was recorded. DNA was isolated from buccal swabs and genotyping was done by PCR-RFLP. The majority of participants had E3/E4 genotype (55.2%) and these heterozygotes were significantly more frequent than any other genotype (p<0.001). There was no significant association between dental status and genotype. However, partial edentulousness with very few teeth in both jaws (1-9 teeth) was significantly more frequent among demented patients with E3/E4 genotype (p=0.021). Patients with Alzheimer disease most frequently had E3/E4 genotype and had very few or no teeth.