Family resemblance of bone turnover rate in mothers and daughters--the MODAM study.

Abstract

We studied bone turnover markers (BTM) and bone microarchitecture (using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT)) in 171 postmenopausal women and their 210 premenopausal daughters. BTM levels correlated positively between mothers and daughters. The mother-daughter pairs with high BTM levels had lower cortical density than those with low BTM levels. We assessed the correlation of serum bone turnover markers (BTM) between postmenopausal mothers and their premenopausal daughters as well as possible determinants of this association and its impact on resemblance of bone microarchitecture between mothers and their daughters. Cross-sectional analysis was performed in 171 untreated postmenopausal mothers (54 sustained fragility fractures) and their 210 premenopausal daughters. Intact N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (PINP) and β-isomerized C-terminal crosslinking telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I) were measured in the fasting status. Bone microarchitecture was assessed using HR-pQCT. After adjustment for age, weight, lifestyle factors, hormones, and mother's fracture status, BTM levels correlated positively between mothers and daughters (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient = 0.22-0.27, p <0.005). Average BTM levels were ∼ 0.6 SD higher among daughters of mothers in the highest BTM quartile vs. the ones in the lowest BTM quartile. The variability of BTM levels explained ≤ 10 and ≤ 14% of variability of bone microarchitecture in the daughters and mothers, respectively. Cortical density was lower by 2.3-2.9% (0.6 SD, p <0.05 to <0.005) in the daughters from the mother-daughter pairs with high BTM levels (defined by generation-specific quartiles) than in the daughters from the pairs with low BTM levels. Corresponding differences for the mothers were 4.5-4.8% (0.5 SD, p <0.05 to <0.01). BTM levels correlated between postmenopausal mothers and their premenopausal daughters after adjustment for age, weight, mother's fracture status, lifestyle, and hormonal factors. Family resemblance of BTM levels may contribute to family resemblance of some bone microarchitectural parameters, especially of cortical density.