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Genetic variations may affect cortisol levels, severity of age-related osteoporosis
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Researchers in Germany have identified genetic variations that could affect the physiological cortisol levels and severity of age-related osteoporosis, according to data published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
However, the underlying functional mechanisms remain unclear, according to Heide Siggelkow, MD, of the Institute of Gastroenterology and department of gastroenterology and endocrinology at Georg-August-University in Göttingen, Germany, and colleagues.
Their retrospective study included 452 patients being treated for osteoporosis. Associations of 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the HSD11B1 and HSD11B2 genes with a post-dexamethasone cortisol (PDC) level and bone mineral density and fracture risk were examined in a subgroup analysis of 304 patients, according to data.
“Here we report that PDC levels increased with age and correlate negatively with BMD. Furthermore, genetic polymorphisms in the cortisol-activating enzyme 11-beta-HSD1 were correlated with lower PDC levels and higher BMD in patients evaluated for osteoporosis,” researchers wrote.
According to data, PDC levels increased with age (P<10-5) in 287 patients and were negatively correlated with BMD at the femoral neck (P<10-5) in 258 patients. This correlation was more significant in women compared with men (P<.001 vs. P=.36), researchers wrote.
In particular, they identified three SNPs — rs1000283, rs932335 and rs11811440 — genetically linked to BMD. Moreover, T-score values indicate higher cortisol levels had a greater effect with increasing age, researchers wrote.
“For the spine, only the z score, and not the T-score or the BMD in grams per square centimeter, was significantly correlated with the PDC level,” researchers wrote.
These findings demonstrate that genetic polymorphisms in HSD11B1 may affect cortisol levels, especially in older individuals.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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