Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
The genetic, environmental and phenotypic correlations of bone phenotypes at the spine and hip in Chinese
Yan-Bo Wang1, Shu-Feng Lei, Volodymyr Dvornyk
1Laboratory of Molecular and Statistical Genetics and the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, PR China.
Background:
Bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), and bone size have been widely studied individually as important risk factors for osteoporotic fracture, but little is known about the correlation and the degree of sharing genetic and environmental factors between the pairs of the three phenotypes.
Aim:
The study investigated genetic correlation (rhoG), environmental correlation (rhoE) and phenotypic correlation (rhoP) between BMD, BMC and bone size.
Subjects And Methods:
Bivariate variance decomposition analyses were performed in 904 subjects from 287 Chinese nuclear families.
Results:
Significant rhoE, rhoG and rhoP were detected between BMD, BMC and bone size, except for rhoE between BMD and bone size at the hip (rhoE = 0.121, p = 0.361). Common shared genetic factors explained 86.1% and 60% of BMD and BMC genetic variations at the spine and hip, respectively. However, the genetic and environmental correlations between BMD and bone size were limited. rhoE and rhoG at the spine were 0.392 and 0.381, and at the hip were 0.121 and -0.205, respectively. Only 14.5% and 4.2% of variations between BMD and bone size at the spine and hip may be due to the shared genetic factors.
Conclusion:
The obtained results suggested that bone size may be used as another surrogate phenotype independently of BMD for eventual elucidation of the pathogenesis of osteoporosis because of the limited correlations between BMD and bone size.
Related Concept Videos
01:18Polygenic Traits
01:09Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
01:18Classification of Bones
Long and Short Bones
The appendicular skeleton, particularly the upper and lower limbs, is primarily made of long and short bones. The long...
01:29Bone Disorders
Bone deposition is also affected by the levels of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone that promote osteoblast activity and bone matrix synthesis. When the level of these hormones decreases due to aging, it causes a reduction in bone deposition. As a result, bone resorption by osteoclasts...