Abstract
Purposes: In order to investigate the association between serum periostin levels and the variation of its encoding gene POSTN and the prevalence of vertebral fractures and bone mineral density (BMD) in Chinese postmenopausal women, an association study was performed. Materials and Methods: 385 postmenopausal women were recruited. For participants without a history of vertebral fracture, lateral X-rays of the spine covering the fourth thoracic spine to the fifth lumbar spine were performed to detect any asymptomatic vertebral fractures. Ten tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of POSTN were genotyped. Serum periostin levels, biochemical parameters, and BMD were measured individually. Results: rs9603226 was significantly associated with vertebral fractures. Compared to allele G, the minor allele A carriers of rs9603226 had a 1.722-fold higher prevalence of vertebral fracture (p = 0.037). rs3923854 was significantly associated with the serum periostin level. G/G genotype of rs3923854 had a higher serum periostin level than C/C and C/G (67.26 ± 19.90 ng/mL vs. 54.57 ± 21.44 ng/mL and 54.34 ± 18.23 ng/mL). Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between the serum level of periostin and BMD at trochanter and total hip. Conclusion: Our study suggested that genetic variation of POSTN could be a predicting factor for the risk of vertebral fractures. The serum level of periostin could be a potential biochemical parameter for osteoporosis in Chinese postmenopausal women.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilOsteoporosis is a systemic bone disease characterized by low bone mass and the structural destruction of bone
Inclusion criteria for the study were: (1) All patients were over 45 years old; (2) the age for natural menopause was older than 40 years; (3) all patients had been in menopause for at least one year
The serum levels of periostin, alkaline phosphatase and phosphorus were significantly different between these two subgroups
Summary
Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease characterized by low bone mass and the structural destruction of bone. One of the severe osteoporosis consequences is vertebral fractures, which are often undiagnosed due to mild symptoms [1]. Existing vertebral fractures can lead to a higher risk of non-vertebral fractures in the future [2]. Bone mineral density (BMD), which is assessed by DXA, is often used for the diagnosis of osteoporosis. X-ray of the thoracic and lumbar spine is more commonly used in patients with suspected vertebral fractures, recent developments in BMD evaluation have heightened the need for the assessment of pre-existing of vertebral fractures [3]. How to find individuals with high risk of osteoporotic fracture is very important in order to reduce the prevalence of fractures in postmenopausal women
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