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Apolipoprotein E genotype affects the response to lipid‐lowering therapy in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Author(s) -
Tavintharan S.,
Lim S. C.,
Chan Y. H.,
Sum C. F.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
diabetes, obesity and metabolism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.445
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1463-1326
pISSN - 1462-8902
DOI - 10.1111/j.1463-1326.2006.00577.x
Subject(s) - medicine , simvastatin , genotype , confounding , statin , type 2 diabetes mellitus , apolipoprotein b , lovastatin , endocrinology , apolipoprotein e , gastroenterology , diabetes mellitus , cholesterol , lipid profile , biology , biochemistry , disease , gene
Objective: To evaluate the effect of apolipoprotein E (apoE) genotype on baseline lipid levels and the response to hydroxy‐methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) therapy in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Research design and methods: We consecutively recruited Chinese patients with type 2 DM requiring lipid‐lowering therapy according to current guidelines. Patients were started on either simvastatin 10 mg daily or given an equivalent dose of lovastatin 20 mg. After 12 weeks of statin therapy, patients had fasting lipid profiles repeated. ApoE genotyping was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Results: Ninety‐six patients were studied. The ɛ3/ɛ3 genotype was in 62.5%, ɛ2/ɛ3 and ɛ3/ɛ4, 16.7 and 20.8%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding variables, baseline total cholesterol (TC) and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) levels were significantly higher in those with ɛ3/ɛ4 compared with ɛ2/ɛ3 genotype (6.7 vs. 5.5 m m for TC, 4.5 vs. 3.6 m m for LDL‐C; p = 0.015 and p = 0.025, respectively). With statin therapy, ɛ3/ɛ4 patients had significantly greater LDL‐C lowering compared with ɛ2/ɛ3 patients (48 vs. 27.7%; p = 0.04). There was no gender difference in baseline lipid parameters or response to statin therapy. Conclusions: ApoE genotype accounts for interindividual variability of baseline cholesterol levels, and response to statin therapy in Chinese patients with type 2 DM.