APOE ϵ4, rated life experiences, and affect among centenarians

Abstract

<p><strong>Objectives:</strong> The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between apolipoprotein E (APOE), life events and engagement, and subjective well-being (as measured by positive and negative affect) among centenarians. Based on the life stress paradigm, we predicted that higher levels of stress would allow <em>APOE</em> to influence positive and negative affect.</p> <p><strong>Method:</strong> 196 centenarians and near-centenarians (98 years and older) of the Georgia Centenarian Study participated in this research. The <em>APOE</em>, positive and negative affect, the number of recent (last 2 years) and lifelong (more than 20 years prior to testing) events, as well as a number of life engagement tasks were assessed.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Results suggested that centenarians carrying the <em>APOE</em> ϵ<em>4</em> allele rated lower in positive affect, the number of lifelong events, and in engaged lifestyle, when compared to centenarians without the <em>APOE</em> ϵ<em>4</em>allele (<em>t</em> = 3.43, <em>p</em> < .01; <em>t</em> = 3.19, <em>p</em> < .01; and <em>t</em> = 2.33, <em>p</em> < .05, respectively). Blockwise multiple regressions indicated that the <em>APOE</em> ϵ<em>4</em> predicted positive but not negative affect after controlling for demographics. Gene–environment interactions were obtained for the <em>APOE</em> ϵ<em>4</em> and lifelong events, suggesting that carriers of the <em>APOE</em> ϵ<em>4</em> allele had higher scores of negative affect after having experienced more events, whereas noncarriers had reduced negative affect levels after having experienced more events.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> <em>APOE</em> ϵ<em>4</em> is directly related to positive affect and is related to negative affect in interaction with life events.</p>