Effect of APOE ε4 allele on survival and fertility in an adverse environment

Abstract

Contrary to affluent modern-day populations, APOE-ε4 did not carry a survival disadvantage in this rural Ghanaian population. Moreover, APOE-ε4 promotes fertility in highly infectious environments. Our findings suggest that APOE-ε4 may be considered as evolutionarily adaptive. Its adverse associations in affluent modern populations with later onset diseases of aging further characterize APOE-ε4 as an example of antagonistic pleiotropy.