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Is heritability a risk factor for postmenopausal osteoporosis?
Author(s) -
Hansen Marc Allan,
Hassager Christian,
Jensen Signe Birk,
Christiansen Claus
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of bone and mineral research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.882
H-Index - 241
eISSN - 1523-4681
pISSN - 0884-0431
DOI - 10.1002/jbmr.5650070906
Subject(s) - medicine , osteoporosis , hydroxyproline , endocrinology , risk factor , peak bone mass , forearm , femur , bone density , surgery
We investigated heritability as a risk factor for the development of osteoporosis in two randomly selected populations of postmenopausal women and their premenopausal daughters. We determined the familial resemblance in bone mass at three sites; the distal forearm, lumbar spine, and proximal femur, premenopausally and with increasing maternal postmenopausal age. We also examined the bone mass of daughters in relation to mothers with and without osteoporotic fractures. Peak bone mass among premenopausal siblings was significantly correlated at all sites ( r = 0.30–0.42, p < 0.001). The same levels of resemblance were found between early postmenopausal mothers and premenopausal daughters. There was no significant difference in bone mass at any skeletal site between daughters of women with either peripheral or spinal fractures and daughters of women without fractures. We also examined familial resemblance with four biochemical markers of bone turnover (fasting urinary calcium and hydroxyproline, both corrected for creatinine, serum alkaline phosphatase, and plasma bone Gla protein). A generally significant resemblance were seen in premenopausal siblings ( r = 0.25–0.39, hydroxyproline NS), but not between premenopausal daughters and postmenopausal mothers. We conclude that peak bone mass is hereditary in the distal forearm, lumbar spine, and proximal femur, but the mother‐daughter resemblance explains only about 16% of the variability in daughters' bone mass. Furthermore, daughters of women with a moderate state of osteoporotic fractures are not substantially at an increased risk of having a low peak bone mass compared to the daughters of women without fractures.