Data from: Assessing for interaction between APOE ε4, sex, and lifestyle on cognitive abilities

Objective: To test for statistically significant interactions between
apolipoprotein (APOE) e4 genotype, and lifestyle factors on worse
cognitive abilities in UK Biobank. Methods: Using UK Biobank cohort data,
we tested for statistically significant interactions between APOE e4
allele presence, lifestyle factors of alcohol intake, smoking, total
physical activity and obesity, and sex, on cognitive tests of reasoning,
information processing speed and executive function (n
range=70,988-324,725 depending on the test). We statistically adjusted for
potential confounders of age, sex, deprivation, cardiometabolic
conditions, and educational attainment. Results: There were significant
associations between APOE e4 and worse cognitive abilities, independent of
potential confounders, and between lifestyle risk factors and worse
cognitive abilities, however there were no statistically significant
interactions at multiple correction-adjusted P<0.05, against our
hypotheses. Conclusions: Our results do not provide support for the idea
that e4 genotype increases vulnerability to the negative effects of
lifestyle risk factors on cognitive ability, but rather support a
primarily outright association between APOE e4 genotype and worse
cognitive ability.