A large number of case-control studies have investigated the association of apolipoprotein E ( APOE) polymorphisms with Parkinson disease (PD) and Parkinson disease dementia (PDD), with inconsistent results. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the relationship between APOE polymorphisms and PD/PDD risk. We searched for published studies in PubMed, Web of Science, WanFang Data (in Chinese), and CNKI (in Chinese) from inception to June 2017. Case-control studies reporting part or complete APOE genotype and allele frequency data were included. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using RevMan 5.3 software. A total of 39 studies involving 6453 cases with PD, with 461 cases with PDD, and 6855 controls were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that the APOE ε3 allele was a protective factor for PD (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.81-0.99; P = .04), whereas no significant differences in PD risk among all cases compared to controls were found for APOE ε2 and ε4. In Asian subgroups, the APOE ε4 allele was shown to be a risk factor for PD (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.01-1.46; P = .04). Additionally, APOE polymorphisms were significantly associated with PDD risk in the entire case group (ε3: OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.58-0.89, P = .003; ε4: OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.12-1.88, P = .004) and in Asian subgroups.
Keywords: Parkinson disease; Parkinson disease dementia; apolipoprotein E; meta-analysis; polymorphisms.