Wife two copies of APOE4 and me 1

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
Post Reply
lordhanson
New User
New User
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2018 3:12 pm

Wife two copies of APOE4 and me 1

Post by lordhanson »

Hey all,

Stumble across this site after opening our 23andMe reports and finding out we both have APOE4. I only have 1 but my partner found out she has two.

We'll digest this info over next week and do the research, but I have an opening questions perhaps someone knows the answers to.

What % of population (European if that helps) have 1 AOPE4 variant and what are the chances of having 2 copies.

Reading some info on 23andme it suggests my wife's chances of getting AD is 60%. Is that really proven out with recent studies anyone can reference?

Finally, last year her bother had a stroke at age 40. How likely is it he shares the same 2 copies she does and could these be related?

Thanks in advance,

David & Jane (40, 35 years old)
NF52
Support Team
Support Team
Posts: 2772
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2016 9:41 am
Location: Eastern U.S.

Re: Wife two copies of APOE4 and me 1

Post by NF52 »

lordhanson wrote:Hey all,
Stumble across this site after opening our 23andMe reports and finding out we both have APOE4. I only have 1 but my partner found out she has two.
We'll digest this info over next week and do the research, but I have an opening questions perhaps someone knows the answers to.
David & Jane (40, 35 years old)
Welcome David and Jane,

Stumbling across this site only a short time after you got your 23 & me results shows that you are likely natural optimists and problem-solvers, with lots of "cognitive reserve"--one of the strongest predictors of continued good brain health. Like Jane, I am a 4/4 and, at 66, old enough to be her mother--which I hope she views as good news, since I'm also doing fine cognitively (and participating in a clinical trial with regular testing to prove that!)
To try to answer your questions: the percentage of people with European ancestry who have at least one copy of ApoE 4 varies among studies, but here's what 23 & me reports:
Published studies of people who don’t have Alzheimer’s disease estimate that 13-16% of people of European
descent, 18-23% of people of African American descent, 11-23% of people of Hispanic descent, and 7-14% of people of East Asian descent carry at least one copy of the ε4variant. Among people with Alzheimer’s disease, published studies estimate that 34-41% of people of European descent, 32-42% of people of African American descent, 19-32% of people of Hispanic descent, and 25-30% of people of East Asian descent carry at least one copy of the ε4 variant.
Frequency of the APOE ε4 variant in 23andMe customers
Variant name: ε4
European: 26.02%
African- American 34.10%
Ashkenazi Jewish 21.84%
East Asian 17.39%
Hispanic or Latino 22.44%
South Asian 17.16%

23andMe® Personal Genome Service® (PGS)Genetic Health Risk Reports Package Insert

By report, the frequency tends to be a little higher among people whose ancestors came from North/Central Europe or Ireland/U.K and a little less from people whose ancestors came from Southern Europe. So not rare by any means. However, ApoE 4/4 is considerably more rare, with most estimates being about 2.2-2.5% of people with European ancestry.

For the question on whether Jane has a 60% risk of Alzheimer's: Short answer: Probably not! And ApoE 4 is considered a risk only for "Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease" (sometimes called LOAD), starting after age 65.
Here's a meta-analysis used in the clinical study I'm in: it's based on 4 population-based cohorts followed for years. APOE-related risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia for prevention trials: An analysis of four cohorts .
The Generation Study elected to disclose the following “lifetime” risks of MCI or dementia to its potential participants: 30%–55% for individuals with APOE-e4/e4; 20%–25% for individuals with APOE-e3/e4 and -e2/e4 (with a note that risk might be lower for those with APOE-e2/e4); and 10%–15% for individuals with APOE-e3/e3, -e3/e2, and -e2/e2 (with a note that risk might be lower for those with APOE-e2/e3 and -e2/e2).
The risk quoted for people with ApoE 4/4 is 30-55%--a huge range. That's because a lot of other genetic and lifestyle factors are at play. I like to think of it this way: For people a generation older than you two, somewhere between 45% and 70% will not have even mild cognitive impairment by the age of 85.
Since my kids were not raised on Velveeta cheese, Wonder Bread and hot dogs, and sports were not reserved for boys, I am pretty sure they--and you-- will have the tools and the time to prevent this disease.

As for Jane's brother, ApoE 4 is a risk factor for cardiac disease, as are other factors like smoking, obesity, congenital heart disease, pollution, etc. She may want to speak to her doctor about a referral to a cardiologist to talk about the value of diagnostic tests that could diagnose any pre-disease risks she might have.

Now some good news for both of you: You are young enough that the rate of research on Alzheimer's disease (and other diseases that affect the brain) is very likely to dramatically change how we view risk and prevention over the next 5-10 years. You'll find that people on this site have found a multitude of ways to control of what they can (sleep, exercise, improving markers like blood pressure and insulin resistance) and to not worry about the "rabbit holes" of small studies that promise either miracles in mice, or report doom and gloom in current 80 year olds. You may want to check out our How-To Guide for examples of how to search for topics, follow forum threads on topics of interest, and use the Wiki.

Scientists are now deep into studying the preclinical biomarkers that may signal increased risk of the disease years or even decades before it is evident. They soon may be able to much more precisely monitor someone who is at increased genetic or familial risk.

Even more importantly huge population-based studies like the FINGER study in Finland, which is now being replicated in Europe, the U.S. and some Pacific Rim countries, suggest that lifestyle factors and higher education levels are associated with lower rates of dementia. A great source of information for those types of factors is the PRIMER, written by Stavia, a physician member who is also 4/4.

A final bit of gentle advice: don't set yourselves the goal of either reading or absorbing everything there is to know about ApoE 4/4 in the next week, or even the next year. Read enough to feel calm about what you are currently doing to keep doing that, or to add or subtract one or two "low-hanging fruit". Plan that each of you will have your own way of dealing with this: maybe you'll swap turns with reading everything and sharing it (my husband "loves" when I do that!) or wanting to put it away and not talk about it for a while. Most of the people on this site have done both.

Finally, it's perfectly okay to also take some pride in the fact that some scientists see an association between having an ApoE 4 gene and being pretty smart. So plan on enjoying those smart brains for a long lifetime!
4/4 and still an optimist!
User avatar
Sara
Support Team
Support Team
Posts: 253
Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2017 4:44 pm
Location: Between PA and FL
Contact:

Re: Wife two copies of APOE4 and me 1

Post by Sara »

Greetings David and Jane and welcome to the apoe4.info site! We are glad to have you on board. I hope that NF52 answered your question and please don't hesitate to ask any other questions that will come up in the future. Getting this type of information (23andme) can be a lot to take but I applaud you for taking the steps to learn about your risk so early on in your lives. If you look around on this site you will see many individuals working to improve their health through nutrition, exercise, sleep, detoxification, supplementation and social support. I sincerely believe that this is the basis for maintaining good health under any conditions.
Certified ReCODE 2.0 Brain Health Coach, MOCA Certified
MBA, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach
Brain Health Professional - Amen University
Surviving loved one who transitioned with AD
User avatar
TheresaB
Mod
Mod
Posts: 1607
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 9:46 am
Location: Front Range, CO

Re: Wife two copies of APOE4 and me 1

Post by TheresaB »

Welcome David and Jane. My husband and I share the same genetics as you, he has one 4, ApoE 3/4, and I have two 4s, ApoE 4/4. I think this has helped us. We're both motivated to eat and live a lifestyle to best benefit our genetic situation. It helps to do this as a team. It makes eating meals simple, since we both need to follow the same diet. We both are now dedicated to sleep hygiene, keeping active and other practices. We also cross-pollinate the information we learn. We feel very empowered knowing our genetic predisposition and strategies which influence it to the positive. I hope you also form an ApoE4 alliance and join those of us who are determined to buck current statistics and live healthfully.
-Theresa
ApoE 4/4
Post Reply