The Influence of Vitamin D Receptor Genetic Variants on Bone Mineral Density and Osteoporosis in Chinese Postmenopausal Women
Growing evidence indicates that the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is an important candidate gene for influencing the development of osteoporosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential association between genetic variants ofVDRgene and bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis in Chinese postmenopausal women. The study included 970 Chinese postmenopausal women at the postmenopausal osteoporosis (482) and healthy controls (488). The BMD of lumbar spine (L2–4anterior-posterior view), femoral neck hip, and total hip was evaluated using the Norland XR-46 dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The genotypes ofVDRgenetic variants were determined by the created restriction site-PCR (CRS-PCR) and confirmed by DNA sequencing methods. Our data indicated that theVDRp.Glicine (Gly)14 alanine (Ala) and p.histidine (His) 305 glutanine (Gln) genetic variants were statistically associated with adjusted femoral neck hip BMD, adjusted lumbar spine BMD, and adjusted total hip BMD (Pvalues < 0.05). Results from this study suggest that theVDRp.Gly14Ala and p.His305Gln genetic variants are significantly associated with BMD decrease in Chinese postmenopausal women and might be used as molecular markers for assessing the risk of BMD and osteoporosis.