POPULATION BIOLOGY OF HUMAN AGING - SEGREGATION ANALYSIS OF BONE-AGE CHARACTERISTICS

The main goal of the present study is to elucidate the extent to which primary characteristics of bone aging are determined by major gene ef fects, We report the results of a complex segregation analysis of bone mineral density (BMD) and osseographic score (OS) carried out on an a rray of pedigrees from rural Turkmenia. Both variables showed a signif icant correlation with age and thus were adjusted. However, the correl ations with body height, weight, body mass index, and obesity indexes were negligible. The results of the segregation analysis performed on BMD clearly indicate major gene effects on BMD variation. The Mendelia n transmissibility hypothesis with two codominant alleles was chosen a s the best-fitting and most parsimonious model, tinder this hypothesis 50-60% of total variation in BMD, depending on bone area, can be attr ibuted to a major gene effect, and the frequency of the allele determi ning the higher value of bone density is between 30% and 38% in the Tu rkmenian population. Regarding the OS, segregation analysis provided e vidence supporting intergenerational transmissibility of this characte ristic and yet the Mendelian model was rejected.