Apolipoprotein E polymorphism influences the serum cholesterol response to dietary intervention.

The association between apolipoprotein (apo) E polymorphism and the response of serum cholesterol to dietary counseling and to gemfibrozil treatment was investigated in 230 dyslipidemic middle-aged participants of the Helsinki Heart Study. Baseline lipid levels were not significantly different between subjects with or without the epsilon 4 allele. Following dietary counseling, participants with the epsilon 4 allele exhibited a greater reduction in serum total cholesterol (P less than .01) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (P less than .02) than those without the epsilon 4 allele, while the changes in high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and triglycerides were similar in the two groups. The alterations observed in total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides during treatment with gemfibrozil were not different between subjects with or without the epsilon 4 allele. The presence of the epsilon 4 allele and baseline serum cholesterol independently predicted the degree of cholesterol reduction following dietary counseling.