ABSTRACT
Background: Osteoporosis is the commonest systemic disease leading to increased bone fragility and fracture. Vitamin D receptor Polymorphism is thought to have the most genetic influence on BMD
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between vitamin D receptor Apa1 and Taq1 genes polymorphism and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women
Methods: This was a case/control study in which 80 patients with osteoporosis [case group], referred to rheumatology ward at Boalisina Hospital during 2010 were investigated. The control group included an equal number of patients who visited other wards of the hospital for a variety of reasons. We obtained the bone mass densitometry [grams per centimeter square] results of case and control groups at the lumbar spine, wrist and hip by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The distribution of Apa1 and Taq1 polymorphism in the VDR gene was determined by PCR-RFLP. Data were statistically analyzed by SPSS software using chi-square and ANOVA tests
Findings: There was no relationship between the Apa1, Taq1 VDR polymorphism and BMD results. We found that patients with Taq1 genotype [tt] had lower bone mass in the femur and wrist compared with Tt
Conclusion: Based on our findings, a relationship between the VDR polymorphism and osteoporosis remains unclear requiring further in-depth studies. Our results showed that other secondary factors may influence the bone mass density