APOA5 polymorphisms influence plasma triglycerides in young, healthy African Americans and whites of the CARDIA Study

Genetic variation in the apolipoprotein A-V gene (APOA5) has been associated with variation in plasma triglyceride (TG) levels in African American and white females and males older than 40 years and/or at increased risk of coronary artery disease. We have examined whether plasma TG levels are associated with 16 APOA5 polymorphisms in young (18-30 years) African American (1,075 females and 783 males) and white (1,041 females and 932 males) individuals of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study selected without regard to health. Plasma TG was significantly (P < 0.01) associated with markers 27376 and 28837 (-3A/G) in both white females and males, with 27709 (-1131T/C) and 29085 in white males, with 29009 (S19W) in African American females and white males, and with 30966 in African American females. No statistically significant associations were observed in African American males. These six single-nucleotide polymorphisms individually accounted for 0-0.78% of lnTG variation among white females, 0-2.46% among white males, and 0-0.69% among African American females. The results of our study suggest a small but replicable context-dependent influence of the APOA5 gene region on plasma TG levels in young, healthy individuals.