A large-scale population-based study of the association of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms with bone mineral density

✍ Scribed by Dr. André G. Uitterlinden; Huibert A. P. Pols; Huibert Burger; Qiuju Huang; Paul L. A. van Daele; Cornelia M. van Duijn; Albert Hofman; Jan C. Birkenhäger; Johannes P. T. M. van Leeuwen

• Publisher: American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 788 KB
• Volume: 11
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0884-0431
• DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.5650110908

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Conflicting results have been reported on the association between restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) at the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene locus (i.e., for __Bsm__I, __Apa__I, and __Taq__I) and bone mineral density (BMD). We analyzed this association in a large population‐based sample (n = 1782) of men and women aged 55–80 years using a novel direct haplotyping polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to monitor the three polymorphic sites simultaneously. The direct haplotyping test we developed demonstrated a larger degree of genetic polymorphism at the VDR gene locus than described until now. None of the individual RFLPs were associated with BMD at the proximal femur. By analyzing allele dose effects, we identified a VDR haplotype allele weakly associated with low BMD. This allele, as one representative of the group of b alleles, is different from the __Bsm__I allele previously reported by other groups to be associated with low BMD. This suggests allelic heterogeneity at the VDR locus in relation to BMD. Our results indicate at most a small effect of the VDR genotype on BMD in this elderly population. Since anonymous polymorphisms were analyzed, alternative explanations for our results include linkage to another nearby bone‐metabolism related gene.