Background: Osteoporosis (OP) and low bone mass can be debilitating and costly conditions if not acted on quickly. This disease is also difficult to diagnose as symptoms develop unnoticed until fracture occurs. Therefore, gaining understanding of the genetic risk associated with these conditions could be beneficial for healthcare professionals in early detection and prevention.
Methods: The Boston Puerto Rican Osteoporosis (BPROS) study, an ancillary study to the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS), collected information regarding bone and bone health. All bone measurements were taken during regular BPROS visits using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Osteoporosis was defined as T-score ≤ -2.5 (2.5 SD or more below peak bone mass). Dietary variables were collected at the second wave of the BPRHS via food frequency questionnaire. We conducted genome-wide associations with bone outcomes including bone mineral density (BMD) and OP for 978 participants. We also examined interactions with dietary quality on the relationships between genotype and bone outcomes. We further tested if candidate genetic variants described in previous GWAS on OP and BMD contribute to OP risk in this population.
Results: Four variants were associated with OP: rs114829316 (IQCJ), rs76603051, rs12214684 (MCHR2), and rs77303493 (RIN2), and two variants with BMD of lumbar spine (rs11855618, CGNL1) and hip (rs73480593, NTRK2), reaching the genome-wide significance threshold of P ≤ 5E-08. In a gene-diet interaction analysis, we found that one SNP showed a significant interaction with the overall DASH score, and 7 SNPs with sugar-sweeten beverages, a major contributor to the DASH score.
Conclusion: This study identifies new genetic markers related to osteoporosis and BMD in older Hispanic adults. Additionally, we uncovered unique genetic markers that interact with dietary quality, specifically sugar-sweetened beverages, in relation to bone health. These findings may be useful to guide early detection and preventative care.
Keywords: DASH; GWAS; dietary quality; health disparities; low bone mass; osteoporosis; sugar sweetened beverages.
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