| Keywords |
Bone strength ; Basal physical fitness ; Elderly women |
| Abstract |
This study was designed to clarify an association of ACE polymrophism with bone mineral density(BMD), bone strength, and basal physical fitness in elderly women. We determined the ACE polymorphism using a polymerase chain reaction(PCR), in a DNA sample of 64 elderly women aged 75.4 ± 8.5 yrs. The genetic subtype was characterized by the presence(insertion, I allele) or absence(deletion, D allele) of a 287 base pair fragment and then BMD, bone strength and basal physical fitness were compared among genotypes. A densitometric studies on lumbar spine and femur and analyses of ultrasonic wave in calcaneus were performed. For the genotype distribution, 34.4%(n = 22) were II genotype, 42.2%(n = 27) were ID genotype and 23.4%(n = 15) were DD genotype, respectively. The lumbar vertebra 1 (L1) BMD of II genotype was significantly 19.5% higher than that of DD genotype(p < .05), and L4 BMD of II genotype was also significantly 18.5% higher than that of DD genotype(p < .05). Resting heart rate of II genotype was significantly lower than that of ID genotype(p < .05), and no differences were observed in basal physical fitness. Although a moderate negative correlation was found between age and femur BMD, calcaneus bone strength(p < .05), a positive correlation was found between muscle mass and lumbar and femur BMD(p < .05, p < .01). These results suggest that ACE gene polymorphism might be used as a one of genetic determinants of bone mass in elderly women. |