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Interactive effects of ApoE polymorphism, alcohol and smoking on age-related trends of blood pressure levels in elderly men: the Bambuì Cohort Study of Ageing (1997–2008)

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 27, pages 497–503 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Data from a population-based prospective study were used to examine longitudinal changes in blood pressure (BP) and seek interactions between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes, smoking and alcohol in a cohort of 557 elderly Brazilian men. Repeated BP measurements were obtained in four waves, and multi-level random-effects pattern-mixture models were used to evaluate age-related BP trajectories while accounting for non-ignorable dropouts/deaths and handling heterogeneities as random parameter variations. Alcohol was associated with high systolic BP in ɛ2 carriers and those with the ɛ3/3 genotype, but not in ɛ4 carriers. This was dependent on age and smoking habits: at the age of 60, expected systolic BP in alcohol drinking ɛ2 carriers was 16.5 mm Hg higher than in the reference group of non-smokers/non-drinkers if they were not smokers (P=0.049), and 28.6 mm Hg higher if they were also smokers (P=0.004). The youngest smoking/non-drinking ɛ2 carriers had lower systolic BP, but it increased rapidly and led to higher expected levels among older carriers. Alcohol consumption, alone or together with smoking, interacts with the effects of ApoE genotype on systolic BP, probably nullifying the more favourable lipid profile of ɛ2 carriers. The interactions of gene-modifiable risk factors have major public health implications.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr M Taufer (CMIC Brazil Clinical Research Laboratory, Porto Alegre, Brazil) for genotyping ApoE. This study was supported by a grant from the Italian National Research Council (CNR) in the ambit of the Bilateral Agreement of Scientific Cooperation CNR-CNPq (Brazil).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedical Technologies/CNR, Italian National Research Council, Milan, Italy

    M L C Leite

  2. Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul/University of Vale dos Sinos/Moinho de Vento Hospital, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    E H Moriguchi

  3. Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rene Rachou Research Institute/Federal University of Minas Gerais Medical School, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    M F Lima-Costa

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Correspondence to M L C Leite.

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Leite, M., Moriguchi, E. & Lima-Costa, M. Interactive effects of ApoE polymorphism, alcohol and smoking on age-related trends of blood pressure levels in elderly men: the Bambuì Cohort Study of Ageing (1997–2008). J Hum Hypertens 27, 497–503 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2012.70

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