INFLUENCE OF THE VITAMIN-D-RECEPTOR GENE ALLELES ON BONE-MINERAL DENSITY IN POSTMENOPAUSAL AND OSTEOPOROTIC WOMEN

It is well established that genetic factors contribute to bone turnove r and bone density, Evidence exists suggesting that a major part of th is genetic influence may be due to polymorphisms in the vitamin D rece ptor (VDR) gene, However, it is not clear whether the VDR genotype eff ect persists in elderly women, In the present study, the relationship between the BsmI, ApaI, and TaqI polymorphisms in the VDR gene, and th e bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine, the femoral neck (FN ), and the proximal radius was investigated in a large group of elderl y women (75.5 +/- 5.0 years) of Caucasian origin and in 84 Type I oste oporotic women (66.6 +/- 8.4 years). We did not find a correlation bet ween the VDR genotypes and BMD in elderly women, However, a significan tly higher FN-BMD was observed in obese (body mass index [BMI] > 30 kg /m(2)) versus nonobese (BMT < 30 kg/m(2)) women (p < 0.01). This relat ionship was observed for all BsmI genotypes, Furthermore, the FN-BMD o f nonobese women with bb BsmI genotype was 5% higher than that of wome n,vith the BE genotype (p = 0.04). We conclude that the VDR gene polym orphisms influence the FN-BMD in nonobese postmenopausal women, In a s econd part of the study, possible correlations between the VDR gene po lymorphisms and osteoporosis Type I were analyzed. Our data could not reveal any association between these parameters.