Distribution of apolipoprotein E alleles in the Omani population

Objective: To estimate the apolipoprotein E (apo E) allele distribution in the Omani population and to compare them with those of other populations. Subjects and Methods: One hundred and sixty-two healthy Omanis of Arab Bedouin origin were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: The apo E allele frequencies were ε2, 0.052; ε3, 0.886; ε4, 0.062. This pattern of distribution, characterized by the lowest ε4 and among the highest ε3 allele frequencies in the world, was very similar to that of Arabs, Southern Europeans of the Mediterranean basin, Indians, and Japanese populations. Conclusion: The results indicate that the allelic distribution of apo E in healthy Omanis is characterized by low Apo ε4 and high ε3 allele frequencies similar to those of other Arab, Southern European, Japanese and Indian populations. The homogeneous distribution of apo E alleles in this group of populations might have been influenced by diet and/or genetic admixture.