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Abstract
APOE e4 genotype is found in about 25% of the general population. It is a known risk factor for dementia. It has sometimes been called the 'frailty gene', partly because it seems to increase vulnerability to thinks like brain injury. We asked: do people with e4 genotype (vs. protective e2 or neutral e3) show a larger negative association with other known risk factors for worse brain health, like smoking, alcohol intake and sedentary behaviour? We asked this in terms of cognitive abilities like memory, reasoning and reaction time. The answer seemed to be no: the association between e4 genotype and cognitive ability scores was signfificant, but did not seem to interact with lifestyle. The implication here is that if you do have the e4 'risk' genotype, the role of lifestyle is not more or less important than normal.