Meta-Analysis: Association of Apolipoprotein E Gene Polymorphism with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Chinese Population

Objective To investigate the association between apolipoprotein E（ApoE） gene polymorphism and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods We performed a meta-analysis of 18 studies in Chinese population comprising 2 790 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 3 725 control subjects investigating the ApoE gene polymorphism. Meta-analysis was performed with RevMan version 5. Results An overall odds ratio of 1.27 95% confidence intervals （CI）1.02~1.58 was found for ApoEε4 carriers, which was 1.05 （95% CI 0.89~1.24） for ApoEε2 carriers. Odds ratios in patients without coronary heart diseases attenuated towards the null（OR 0.75,95%CI 0.44~1.27）, unlike those in patients with coronary heart diseases（OR 2.94, 95%CI 2.10~4.11）. Conclusions ApoE gene polymorphism may represent a modest but significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes. ApoEε4 carriers especially in patients with coronary heart diseases are more susceptible to type 2 diabetes mellitus.