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APOE ε4 allele is associated with worse performance in memory dimensions of the mini‐mental state examination: the Bambuí Cohort Study of Aging
Author(s) -
QuintinoSantos Sandra,
Diniz Breno Satler,
Firmo Josélia O. A.,
Moriguchi Emilio Hideyuki,
LimaCosta Maria Fernanda,
CastroCosta Erico
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.4186
Subject(s) - apolipoprotein e , cohort , confounding , confidence interval , mini–mental state examination , demography , population , gerontology , psychology , medicine , dementia , sociology , disease
Objective This study aimed to investigate the correlation between apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 and the mini‐mental state examination (MMSE) dimension in an elderly population, using baseline data from the Bambui (Brazil) Cohort Study of Aging. Design We conducted a community‐based cross‐sectional study. Setting The study took place at Bambui city, Minas Gerais State, Southeast Brazil. Participants A total of 1408 (87.7%) cohort participants had complete information on the MMSE and health measures. Measurements The association between each of five dimensions (concentration, language/praxis, orientation, attention, and memory) underlying the MMSE and APOE ε4 allele was assessed using multivariate linear regression models. Potential confounding variables included sociodemographic factors and selected biomarkers. Results The main finding is a strong negative association between the presence of APOE ε4 allele and memory dimension in the MMSE (fully adjusted β coefficient = −0.14; 95% confidence interval: −0.27 to −0.04; p = 0.016). No other cognitive dimensions showed significant associations with the APOE ε4 allele. Conclusion This study is the first to investigate the association between dimensions of the MMSE, obtained from principal component analysis and APOE ε4 carrier status in community‐dwelling older adults taking into account a range of potential confounding factors. We found a strong negative association between the presence of APOE ε4 allele and scores on memory dimension of the MMSE, but no effect on other dimensions. Our results reinforce previous data on the literature that APOE ε4 allele has a significant effect on cognitive performance that can be detected even in screening tests, such as the MMSE. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.