Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and susceptibility to intracerebral hemorrhage:A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene polymorphism and susceptibility to intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in Chinese population by a meta-analysis. METHODS: Related literature regarding control analysis between ICH and control groups was collected. Independent case-control studies published between 1989 and 2007 that had complete data were included; and articles not closely related to the topic were excluded. The meta-analysis software, RevMan 4.2, was applied to analyze the odds ratio (OR) value in those studies included in the analysis to assess the relationship between susceptibility to ICH and ApoE polymorphism. RESULTS: Eight papers which were in accordance with the inclusion criteria were selected, and a total of 1 249 ICH cases and 1 329 controls were involved. Meta-analysis results showed that with the wildtype E3/3 as a reference, the OR values (95% confidence interval) of intracerebral hemorrhage for subjects carrying E2/2, E3/2, E4/2, E4/3, and E4/4 were 1.15 (0.60–2.21), 1.00 (0.79–1.28), 3.01 (1.73–5.23), 1.78 (1.41–2.24) and 1.94 (1.03–3.65), respectively. The combined OR values (95% confidence interval) of intracerebral hemorrhage for ε4 and ε2 carriers were 1.53 (1.16–2.01), and 0.93 (0.69–1.25). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that ApoE polymorphism is significantly associated with susceptibility to intracerebral hemorrhage and that ε4 carriers have a higher risk for intracerebral hemorrhage than others.