Metabolic syndrome patients differed from healthy controls in the following ways: (1) total plasma - apoA1 was lower, whereas apoB, apoC2, apoC3, and apoE were higher; (2) VLDL - apoB, apoC3, and apoE were increased; (3) LDL - apoC3 was increased, (4) HDL -associated constitutive serum amyloid A protein (SAA4) was reduced (p<0.05 vs. controls for all). Here, APOE is linked to metabolic syndrome.