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Apolipoprotein E is not Related to Memory Abilities at 70 Years of Age

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Abstract

APOE e4-related memory deficits were reported in a normal population aged between 50 and 60 when controlling for general cognitive ability in early adulthood. This extended findings of APOE e4 effects on cognitive ability in 60–80-year-olds to a younger group and confirmed that this effect relates to changes in memory ability with age. The present study tests the association of APOE e4 variation with verbal and spatial memory in a sample of 70-year-olds both adjusted and non-adjusted for childhood and adult general cognitive ability. The 1,013 participants comprise surviving members of the 1947 Scottish Mental Survey resident in the Lothian area of Scotland. They were tested on general cognitive ability at age 11 years and followed up at about age 70 with tests of verbal (immediate and delayed) and spatial memory. General linear models were used to test the association between variation in the APOE polymorphism (e4 presence vs. absence) and memory measures. Of the eight measures tested, Spatial span forward was significantly associated with APOE e4 variation (P = 0.04) when adjusting for IQ, whereas Logical memory immediate was associated with APOE e4 variation (P = 0.04) in the analysis not controlling for IQ. Neither of these tests was significant when a correction for multiple testing was applied. APOE e4 does not influence memory abilities in a normal population of 70-year-olds.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the LBC1936 cohort members. We thank the study Secretary Paula Davies. We thank Janie Corley, Caroline Brett and Caroline Cameron for data collection and data entry. We thank the nurses and other staff at the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility where the data were collected. We thank the staff at Lothian Health Board, and the staff at the SCRE Centre, University of Glasgow. The UK Medical Research Council and the University of Edinburgh provide core funding for the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology which supported this research. The research was supported by a programme grant from Research Into Ageing. The research continues with programme grants from Help the Aged/Research Into Ageing (Disconnected Mind) and the Medical Research Council. IJD is the recipient of a Royal Society-Wolfson Research Merit Award. PMV is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK

    Michelle Luciano, Alan J. Gow, Michelle D. Taylor, Sarah E. Harris & Ian J. Deary

  2. Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Caroline Hayward

  3. Public Health Sciences Section, Division of Community Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Harry Campbell

  4. Medical Genetics Section, Molecular Medicine Centre, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    David J. Porteous

  5. Department of Geriatric Medicine, Royal Victoria Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    John M. Starr

  6. Genetic Epidemiology, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia

    Peter M. Visscher

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  1. Michelle Luciano
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Correspondence to Ian J. Deary.

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Edited by Chandra Reynolds.

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Luciano, M., Gow, A.J., Taylor, M.D. et al. Apolipoprotein E is not Related to Memory Abilities at 70 Years of Age. Behav Genet 39, 6–14 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-008-9236-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-008-9236-x

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