Relationship between A163G osteoprotegerin gene polymorphism and other osteoporosis parameters in Roma and non-Roma postmenopausal women in eastern Slovakia.

BACKGROUND: The study was focused on evaluating the possible correlation between biochemical, anthropometric, and genetic indicators of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The frequency of genotypes and differences in measured parameters were evaluated within two ethnically different groups of women in Slovakia.

METHODS: The study included 310 postmenopausal women divided into non-Roma and Roma groups. Based on results of densitometry, they were divided into control groups and women with osteoporosis and osteopenia. In all women, a genetic analysis of polymorphism of osteoprotegerin gene promotor region (A163G) was provided along with measurement of indicators of bone tissue metabolism.

RESULTS: There is a particularly low incidence of osteoporosis in Roma women. We found a correlation between bone mineral density (BMD), body mass index, and waist and hip circumference in women with osteoporosis and in Roma women with osteopenia. The frequency of the AG genotype was higher in non-Roma women with osteoporosis, but reached only 10.7% in Roma women with osteopenia. While the presence of the G allele in the non-Roma population was accompanied by higher BMD and markers of osteoformation, it was accompanied by significantly higher concentrations of parathyroid hormone in the Roma population.

CONCLUSION: The presence of the AG genotype has a different effect on bone metabolism in two ethnically diverse populations of women in Slovakia. In the general population, the presence of the G allele exhibited protective effects consistent with other studies, but in Roma population this appears to be the allele A. However, this requires a further study for confirmation and more detailed characterization of the differences between populations that have this work indicated.