Genetic determinants of osteoporosis susceptibility in a female Ashkenazi Jewish population.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the heritability of low bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip in Ashkenazi Jewish families.


METHODS
BMD at hip was accessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 166 female subjects from 61 families. Variance component analysis was used to estimate genetic contributions.


RESULTS
We observed significant genetic contributions to age-adjusted BMD at the femoral neck as measured by heritability 0.67 (P < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
There is significant genetic determination in decreased BMD at the femoral neck in an Ashkenazi Jewish female population. These results warrant further gene mapping studies in this population to identify osteoporosis susceptibility loci.
Li
Xiaohui
X
Burns and Allen Research Institute and Divisions of Medical Genetics and Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Chen
Sako
S
Kantorovich
Vitaly
V
Cheng
Li S C
LS
Cohn
Dan H
DH
Rotter
Jerome I
JI
Yang
Huiying
H
Adams
John S
JS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D007585:Jews / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D010375:Pedigree