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The COMT val158met polymorphism is associated with prevalent fractures in Swedish men
Anna L Eriksson1, Dan Mellström, Mattias Lorentzon
1Center for Bone Research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Departments of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, The Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden. anna.eriksson@pharm.gu.se
Introduction:
Sex steroids are important for growth and maintenance of the skeleton. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an estrogen degrading enzyme. The COMT val158met polymorphism results in a 60-75% difference in enzyme activity between the val (high activity=H) and met (low activity=L) variants. We have previously reported that this polymorphism is associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in young men. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between COMT val158met, BMD and fractures in elderly men.
Methods:
Population-based study of Swedish men 75.4, SD 3.2, years of age. Fractures were reported using standardized questionnaires. Fracture and genotype data were available from 2,822 individuals.
Results:
Total number of individuals with self-reported fracture was 989 (35.0%). Prevalence of >or=1 fracture was 37.2% in COMT(LL), 35.7% in COMT(HL) and 30.4% in COMT(HH) (p<0.05). Early fractures (
Conclusions:
The COMT val158met polymorphism is associated with life time fracture prevalence in elderly Swedish men. This association is mainly driven by early fractures (
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