Study on the Association of Apolipoprotein E Gene Polymorphisms and Flight Loads with Blood Lipid Levels in Civil Aircrew Members

Objective: To investigate the effect of apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and flight hour on blood lipids level of aircrew. Method: ApoE genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP. Plasma total cholesterol(TC), HDL cholesterol, triglycerides(TG) and LDL cholesterol were measured by standard enzymatic kits. Result: Total dyslipidemia prevalence of male aircrew (49.2%) was higher than general Chinese male population (26.9%). In male aircrew, the frequency of ε2 allele was higher, but the frequency of ε4 allele was lower than that in general population. ApoE genotypes had significant effects on plasma TC and LDL cholesterol levels, which order were ε2/2<;ε2/3<;ε3/3<;ε3/4. The frequencies of ε3 allele in high TC group were higher than that of normal group in aircrew, but the frequencies of ε2 were opposite, and this distribution trend existed also between high LDL-C group and normal group. Comparing influence of different cumulative flight hours on the blood lipids levels, we found that the group of cumulative flight hour over 15000 showed higher TC and HDL-C levels than group of cumulative flight hour less than 10000, P<; 0.05.The levels of TG and LDL-C also showed an increasing trend with cumulative flight hour. Logistic regression analysis hint that BMI linked to dyslipidemia ,and cumulative flight hour linked to BMI, but other factors such as smoking, drinking and exercise were not. Conclusion: The prevalence of dyslipidemia in aircrew were higher than that of general population. The ApoE genotype distribution in the aircrew was not same to general population. There exits relationship between cumulative flight hours and lipids level and BMI of aircrew members. Cumulative flight hours can affect aircrew lipid level directly or indirectly by body weight.