Abstract：Objective To investigate the relationship between ATP binding cassette transporter A1 ( ABCA1) R219K gene polymorphism and blood lipid abnormality in pilots. Methods 199 male pilots were selected,including 91 hyperlipidemic patients and 108 healthy controls.ABCA1 R219K gene polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction restricted fragments length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and blood lipids and other biochemical markers were also determined. Results The frequencies of the RR, RK, KK , allele R , allele K of ABCA1 R219K in hyperlipidemic group and control group were 28.6%, 47.2%, 24.2%, 52.2%, 47.8% and 33.3%, 53.7%, 13.0%, 60.2%, 39.8%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the genotype and allele frequencies of the R219K polymorphism between hyperlipidemic group and control group(χ2=4.197, P=0.123 and χ2=2.564, P=0.109). No significant differences in levels of TC, TG, LDL were observed among different genotypes of ABCA1 R219K in hyperlipidemic group (P=0.631,P=0.449,P=0.834, respectively). However, pilots with the KK genotype had significantly higher levels of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) than those with the RR genotype in hyperlipidemic group(1.44±0.11 mmol/L vs 1.10±0.23 mmol/L,P<0.05). Conclusions There are no significant differences in the genotype and allele frequencies of the R219K polymorphism between hyperlipidemic pilots and control pilots. The KK genotype of ABCA1 R219K polymorphism may be associated with significantly high HDL-C level in pilots.
2013, Vol. 24 
