Meta-based evidence for apolipoprotein E epsilon2/epsilon3/epsilon4 polymorphism in association with hypertension among Chinese.

Mounting evidence suggests that hypertension is strongly linked to a variety of lipoprotein metabolism abnormalities. Apolipoprotein E gene (ApoE) is one such candidate with its common ɛ2/ɛ3/ɛ4 polymorphism ranking high in hypertension association. To derive more specific information, we pinpoint our research scope in Chinese to test whether this polymorphism is associated with hypertension via a meta-analysis. Random-effects model was performed irrespective of the between study heterogeneity. Data and study quality were assessed in duplicate. Publication bias was evaluated using the fail-safe number. Overall, 12 studies with 14 study groups totalling 1532 hypertensive patients and 2172 controls were identified. Carriers of ApoE ɛ2 allele had no significant increased risk for hypertension (pooled odds ratio (OR)=1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80-1.35; P=0.78), compared with those carrying ɛ3 allele, whereas those with ɛ4 allele had a significant increased risk for hypertension (pooled OR=2.03; 95% CI: 1.61-2.55; P<0.00001). After excluding those with other small nationalities, we observed comparison of ApoE ɛ2 with ɛ3 allele yielded a pooled OR of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.82-1.19; P=0.89) among Han Chinese, and that of ɛ4 with ɛ3 yielded a pooled OR of 1.99 (95% CI: 1.48-2.67; P<0.00001). The fail-safe number at the level of 0.05 supported these significant associations. Taken together, our results expand previous findings and show that ApoE ɛ4 allele is associated with a twofold increased risk of developing hypertension in Chinese.