The findings came from the Bogalusa Heart Study, based at Tulane University Medical Center, which followed 1,520 men and women for 16 years, starting when they were between the ages of five and 14. The scientists periodically measured blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (a common type of fat in the blood) and collected data on the participants' height, weight and lifestyles (smoking, alcohol use and oral contraceptive use).
People who inherited one copy of the E-2 form were found to have low blood levels of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called "bad" cholesterol that promotes atherosclerosis, and high levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), called the "good" cholesterol because it helps remove LDL from the blood. People with low LDL levels and high HDL levels are at low risk for heart disease. About 10 percent of the population carries at least one copy of this form of the gene as part of their (apo)E combination, say researchers.
On the other hand, people who have inherited one copy of the E-4 form tend to have higher blood levels of LDL, placing them at greater risk for heart disease. Scientists say that roughly 20 percent of the population carries the E-4 form. Individuals with two copies of (apo)E-3, about 70 percent of the population, tend to have blood cholesterol levels that fall in the normal ranges -- between the cholesterol levels of those who have one copy of either E-2 or E-4. Co-authors are Abdalla Elkasabany, M.D.; Christian Ehnholm, M.D., and Gerald S. Berenson, M.D.
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Contact: Carole Bullock
caroleb@heart.org
214-706-1279
American Heart Association
10-Nov-1998