Background Previous studies on the attribution of apolipoprotein (apo) E polymorphisms on the occurrence of coronary atherosclerosis disease (CAD) showed inconsistent results. Apo E is a constituent of lipoproteins with considerable variation due to cysteine-arginine exchanges. We investigated the relation between apo E gene polymorphism and the occurrence of CAD in northern Chinese.

Methods The distributions of the HhaI polymorphisms of the apo E gene and blood lipids levels were determined among 132 Chinese subjects in relation to circulating lipids and coronary angiography.

Results The demographic information for 132 subjects showed that subjects with CAD tended to have more unfavourable lipoprotein variables. Genotype distributions at both sites were different between the CAD and control groups. The apo E gene alleles were associated with the plasma levels of lipids and lipoproteins (all p<0.05); The control group had higher apo E ɛ₂” frequencies than the CAD group (p<0.001) and “ɛ₂” was significantly correlated with occurrence of CAD (p<0.001).

Conclusion The results suggest that the apo E gene polymorphism do have influence circulating levels of lipids and lipoproteins and that individuals with apo E “ɛ₂”are likely to have a reduced risk of developing CAD in northern Chinese.