Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism: effects on plasma lipids and risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The most common apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene polymorphism has been found to influence plasma lipid concentration and its correlation with coronary artery disease (CAD) has been extensively investigated in the last decade. It is, however, unclear whether apoE gene polymorphism is also associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The knowledge of this study may provide the primary prevention for T2DM and CAD development before its initiation and progression. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the association between apoE gene polymorphism and T2DM with and without CAD and its role in lipid metabolism.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The case-control study was carried out on a total of 451 samples including 149 normal control subjects, 155 subjects with T2DM, and 147 subjects with T2DM complicated with CAD. The apoE gene polymorphism was tested by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify the possible risks of T2DM and CAD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significantly increased frequency of E3/E4 genotype was observed only in T2DM with CAD group (p = 0.0004), whereas the ε4 allele was significantly higher in both T2DM (p = 0.047) and T2DM with CAD (p = 0.009) as compared with controls. E3/E4 genotype was also the independent risk in developing CAD after adjusting with established risk factors with adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.52 (95%CI 1.28-4.97, p = 0.008). The independent predictor of individuals carrying ε4 allele still remained significantly associated with both CAD (adjusted OR 2.32, 95%CI 1.17-4.61, p = 0.016) and T2DM (adjusted OR 2.04, 95%CI 1.07-3.86, p = 0.029). After simultaneously examining the joint association of E3/E4 genotype combined with either obesity or smoking the risk increased to approximately 5-fold in T2DM (adjusted OR 4.93, 95%CI 1.74-13.98, p = 0.003) and 10-fold in CAD (adjusted OR 10.48, 95%CI 3.56-30.79, p < 0.0001). The association between apoE genotypes on plasma lipid levels was compared between E3/E3 as a reference and E4-bearing genotypes. E4-bearing genotypes showed lower HDL-C and higher VLDL-C and TG, whereas other values of plasma lipid concentrations showed no significant difference.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate that ε4 allele has influence on lipid profiles and is associated with the development of both T2DM with and without CAD, and furthermore, it increased the risk among the subjects with obesity and/or smoking, the conditions associated with high oxidative stress.</p

Linking loss aversion and present bias with overspending behaviour of tourists: insights from a lab-in-the-field experiment

Building upon Prospect Theory and Hyperbolic Time Discounting models, we explore how behavioral factors influence the probability of overspending among outbound leisure travelers. We construct our data in two steps. First, we collect demographics and travel-related variables from a random sample of 314 Singaporean tourists across different age groups and income levels. Second, we conduct a field experiment to measure their risk and time preferences, specifically loss aversion and present bias. We then explore the link between the measured preferences to overspending behaviour. The findings reveal an interesting link between loss aversion, present bias and traveling expenditure patterns: outbound tourists with high loss aversion and high present bias are more likely to overspend. Finally, our study also highlights the role of group identity in de-biasing. Specifically, individuals are more likely to behave according to standard economic models when making decisions in groups

The Impact Of Selected Socio-demographic, Travel-related And Psychogra

Several researchers have attempted to understand the tourism expenditure patterns from the traveler\u27s perspective (Cai, Hong, and Morrision, 1995; Dardis, et al., 1981; Prais and Houthakker,1971; Sheldon and Mak , 1987; Jang, et al.,2003). However, an examination of the previous studies indicates that only limited understanding of the traveler\u27s expenditure patterns has been provided either because of only anecdotal evidence in the studies, or because of their failure to examine the impacts of the factors affecting expenditure patterns. This study examined the effects of socio-demographic, travel-related, and psychographic variables on travel expenditures. The expenditure patterns included lodging, meals and restaurants, attractions and festivals, entertainment, shopping, transportation, and total expenditures. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to the body of literature in relation to travel expenditure by examining the variables under each of the three constructs identified in predicting travel expenditures. The results of the study provide a more comprehensive and holistic picture in the search of travel expenditures based on multiple independent variables. This study found that travel-related variables (i.e. number of adult(s) and length of stay) were the most influential variables affecting tourism expenditures per person per day. From a practical standpoint, this study sheds light by providing information about how the traveler\u27s characteristic effects travel expenditure patterns and destination marketers may use this information to better segment their target market, allocate their marketing dollars more effectively, and tailor their products to compete for tourist\u27s dollars. Since consumer dollars and tourism organizations\u27 marketing budgets are limited, this study may provide information which will help tourism marketers to develop better strategic marketing tools to satisfy and fulfill those tourists\u27 needs and understand certain reasons behind their spending patterns

Examining and Identifying the Determinants of Travel Expenditure Patterns

This study examined the effects of socio-demographic, travel-related and psychographic variables on travel expenditures. The travel expenditure categories examined include lodging, meals and restaurants, attractions and festivals, entertainment, shopping, transportation and total expenditures. The results of the study provide a more comprehensive and holistic picture in the search of travel expenditure patterns based on multiple independent variables. This study reveals that, among the three groups of variables examined, income and trip-related characteristics were the most influential variables affecting tourism expenditures. Discussions and implications are also provided based on the study results