Association between ApoE polymorphism and hypertension: A meta-analysis of 28 studies including 5898 cases and 7518 controls

A total of 28 studies that consisted of 5898 cases with hypertension and 7518 controls were selected. Alleles and genotypes of ApoE between cases and controls were compared. For ApoE alleles, we observed the contrast of ApoE ε2 versus ε3 allele yielded a pooled OR of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.87-1.11; P = 0.823), whereas the contrast of ε4 versus ε3 allele yielded a pooled OR of 1.95 (95% CI: 1.50-2.54; P < 0.001). For ApoE genotypes, compared with ε3/ε3 genotype, genotypes (ε2/ε2 and ε2/ε3) showed a possible association with hypertension (OR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79-0.99; P = 0.033), and genotypes (ε3/ε4 and ε4/ε4) had a 2.08-fold risk of developing hypertension (OR = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.58-2.74; P < 0.001). There is the association between ApoE polymorphism and hypertension: the genotypes carrying ε2 allele may be a protective factor, and the ApoE ε4 allele and the genotypes carrying ε4 allele may be risk factors for hypertension.