Association of apolipoprotein E polymorphism with maximal oxygen uptake after exercise training: a study of Chinese young adult

BACKGROUND: Although a few studies have been conducted, it is still unclear whether the apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism is associated with maximal oxygen uptake (VO(₂max)) after exercise training. The objective of this study was to examine if the APOE gene polymorphisms affect VO(₂max) after exercise training in Chinese young adult. METHODS: A total of 360 Chinese young adult (180 male and 180 female) were recruited into this gender-specific cohorts. Anthropometrics, serum lipids, and VO(₂max) were measured pre and post 6 months of supervised exercise training. Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay was applied to assess the APOE gene polymorphisms. RESULTS: VO(₂max) after exercise training increased significantly higher in carriers of E2/E3 in male [odds ratio (OR) =0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04, 1.32; P = 0.04] and female (OR =0.62, 95% CI = 0.05, 1.18; P = 0.03). VO(₂max) after exercise training increased significantly higher in carriers of E3/E4 in male (OR =0.60, 95% CI = 0.09, 1.11; P = 0.02) and female (OR =0.62, 95% CI = 0.09, 1.15; P = 0.02). No significant differences were found in carriers of E2/E2, E2/E4, E3/E3, E4/E4 in either male nor female. CONCLUSION: Our study found that APOE gene polymorphism was associated with VO(₂max) levels after exercise training in Chinese young adult. In the future, further experiments will be necessary to confirm this finding and to find the possible mechanism.