The Relationship between Apolipoprotein E Gene Polymorphism and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Community Elders of Ningxia

Objective To understand the relationship between apolipoprotein e gene polymorphism and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in community elders,and to provide evidence for discover mechanism of NAFLD.Methods A questionnaire survey and B ultrasonography detection were conducted among 1022 residents aged 55 and over.People who met the criteria of NAFLD as case group,and others as control group.The high resolution melting curve method was used to detect the APOE gene polymorphism,and logistic regression process was used to calculate the risk ratio.Results There were 925 subjects finished the whole exam,included 251 with NAFLD and 674 without NAFLD.There were a significant difference between NAFLD group and control group in the gender and age( P 0.001).There were no significant difference between the NAFLD and control groups in the distributions of genotypes and the allele frequencies.The E3 /3 genotype was the most common genotypes in groups,76.9% for NAFLD group and 77.6% for control group.The E2 allele frequencies in NAFLD and control groups were 9.6% and 8.5% while the E4 were 3.0% and 4.5% respectively.After adjustment for age and gender,the OR for E2 allele carriers was 1.20( 95% CI,0.81 ~ 1.79),for E4 allele carriers was 0.89( 95% CI,0.48 ~ 1.63).No association between increasing APOE risk score and NAFLD was identified.Conclusion Our data provide no evidence to support an association of APOE polymorphisms with NAFLD in the Hui and Han ethnicities.