Since 1992, research teams from Indiana University and the University of Ibadan have been collecting and comparing data from two diverse, elderly populations to identify risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) was genotyped in 2,245 Nigerian samples. Of these, 830 had a diagnosis: 459 were normal, and 140 had dementia including 123 diagnosed with Alzheimer s disease. In contrast with other populations, the APOE ∈ 4 allele was not significantly associated with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. This lack of association in the Yoruba might reflect genetic variation, environmental factors, as well as genetic/environmental interactions.
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