LUMBAR VERTEBRAL AND FEMORAL-NECK BONE-MINERAL DENSITY ARE HIGHER IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH THE ALPHA(2)HS-GLYCOPROTEIN-2 PHENOTYPE

alpha(2)HS-glycoprotein (AHSG) is a plasma protein which becomes conce ntrated in the organic matrix of bone. The two most common alleles, AH SG1 and AHSG*2, give rise to three common phenotypes. A recent report showed that a group of postmenopausal white North American women with different AHSG phenotypes differed significantly with respect to thei r oestrogen status. We have studied variations in bone mineral density , measured by DEXA, and levels of sex hormones and biochemical markers of bone metabolism in a group of 88 post-menopausal women unselected as to their health status. Lumbar vertebral and femoral neck bone mine ral density (BMD), and the free oestradiol index were all significantl y higher (P<0.05) in women with the AHSG 2 phenotype. Values of these three parameters were lowest in the AHSG 1 phenotype and intermediate in the AHSG 2-1 phenotype. Because the differences in BMD between the AHSG 2 and 1 phenotypes represent at least a 40% difference in fractur e risk, the AHSG phenotype may be of some clinical relevance as a risk factor for osteoporosis.