RESUMO
Osteoprosis is a common disease of the elderly, in which genetic and clinical factors contribute to the disease phenotype. Since the production of interleukin-1 [IL-1] has been implicated in the bone mass and skeletal disorders, we investigated whether IL-1 system polymorphisms are associated with the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Taiwanese women. Osteoporosis is diagnosed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, which measures bone mineral density [BMD] at multiple skeletal sites. We studied the IL-1 alpha [-889C/T], IL-1 beta [-511 C/T] and the 86 base pair variable number tandem repeat [VNTR] in intron 2 of the IL-1 receptor antagonist [IL-1 ra] gene in 117 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and 135 control subjects without a history of symptomatic osteoporosis. These gene polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymerase. Blood sugar and other risk factors were determined. The frequencies of IL-1 beta [-511 C/T] genotypes [P=0.22, odds ratio= 1.972] and alleles [P=0.2, odds ratio=2.909] showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups. However, we did not find any statistically significant difference in IL-1 alpha and IL-1 ra polymorphisms [P>0.5]. We also observed a positive relationship between osteoporosis and cholesterol and a weak inverse relationship between blood sugar and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. These experimental results suggest that the pathogenesis of osteoporosis is associated with IL-1 beta [-511 C/T] polymorphism in postmenopausal women. This polymorphism is an independent risk factor for osteoporosis