BackgroundTo analyze the relationship between apolipoprotein E(APOE) (including the SNPs rs429358 and rs7412) gene and cerebral infarction(CI) in Northern Chinese Han population.Methods457 CI patients and 416 controls (without CI) in Chinese Han population were recruited for our study to test the SNPs by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-fluorescence probe technique.ResultsThe distribution of APOE genotypes were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and the frequencies of ɛ4 allele orɛ4 containing were significantdifference between CI and control groups. Compared to ε2 or ε3 carriers, ε4 carriers had a high level of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) and high presenceof dyslipidemia in recruited peoples. And we found APOE ε4 allele was associated with an increased risk of dyslipidemia in the control and CI groups (OR = 2.232, 95% CI= 1.143-4.361, P<0.000; OR = 3.442, 95% CI= 1.885-6.284, P=0.019). However, further logistic regression showed that ɛ4 allele or carriers were not the independent risk factors of CI (OR = 2.232, 95% CI= 1.143-4.361, P=0.144; OR = 3.442, 95% CI= 1.885-6.284, P=0.162).ConclusionAPOE ε4 allele was associated with an increased risk of dyslipidemia (OR = 2.232, 95% CI= 1.143-4.361; OR = 3.442, 95% CI= 1.885-6.284), but ɛ4 allele or carriers were not the independent risk factors of CI in Northern Chinese Han population (OR = 2.232, 95% CI= 1.143-4.361, P=0.144; OR = 3.442, 95% CI= 1.885-6.284, P=0.162).