RESUMO
To investigate the association between total Homocysteine [tHcy] levels with bone turnover markers and lumbar spine BMD, and to study the influences of MTHFR genotypes and B-vitamins on tHcy and BMD in a group of Egyptian postmenopausal women. 66 Egyptian postmenopausal women were subjected to clinical assessment and lumbar spine BMD measurement. Venous blood samples were collected to measure the levels of plasma tHcy, plasma folate, vitamin B12, osteocalcin, serum cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen [S-CTX] and the MTHFR C677T genotyping. According to the T-score, the participants were divided into three groups: normal [N], osteopenic [OPN] and osteoporotic [OPR]. tHcy levels were statistically significantly higher, and serum folate levels statistically significantly lower in the OPR group compared to the other two groups. Nonsignificant differences between the three groups regarding vitamin B12 levels and percentage of the 3 MTHFR genotypes were found. Osteocalcin and the S-CTX levels were statistically significantly higher in the OPR group than the other two groups. BMD was statistically significantly positively correlated with folate and negatively correlated with tHcy, Osteocalcin and S-CTX, while was nonsignificantly correlated with vitamin B12 levels. tHcy was statistically significantly negatively correlated with folate and positively correlated with Osteocalcin and S-CTX, while was nonsignificantly correlated with vitamin B12. The MTHFR genotype groups were not associated with the BMD, tHcy, folate or vitamin B12 levels. In postmenopausal women, tHcy and folate could be related to lumbar spine BMD while vitamin B12 and the MTHFR genotypes seem not to have relation to BMD