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Relationship between Vascular Calcification and Bone Mineral Density in the Old-Order Amish

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Abstract

Vascular calcification and osteoporosis are common age-related processes that are influenced by both genetic and nongenetic factors. Whether common genes underlie these processes is not known. We measured coronary artery calcification (CAC), aortic calcification (AC), and bone mineral density (BMD) in 682 men and women from large Old-Order Amish families. We assessed the heritabilities of these traits and then evaluated, using variance decomposition procedures, whether variation in the traits was influenced by a common set of genes (i.e., pleiotropy). Significant heritabilities were detected for BMD of the femoral neck and spine (0.65, 0.63) and CAC and AC (0.43, 0.42). Mean BMD did not differ significantly across quartiles of either CAC or AC in either sex. In neither the total group nor any single subgroup (men, women, postmenopausal women) did any of the genetic or environmental correlations between BMD and vascular calcification achieve statistical significance. However, subjects with a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events had significantly lower BMD at the femoral neck compared to subjects who reported no prior history of CVD (age-, sex-, body mass index-, and family structure-adjusted P = 0.003). We detected no evidence for shared genes affecting the joint distribution of bone and vascular calcification. However, our results do reveal a lower BMD in subjects with a prior history of CVD in the Old-Order Amish.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by research grants HL69313, AR046838, U01 HL72515, and University of Maryland General Clinical Research Center grant M01 RR 16500, as well as the General Clinical Research Centers Program, National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, and Baltimore Veterans Administration Geriatric Research and Education Clinical Center. We gratefully acknowledge our Amish liaisons and fieldworkers and the extraordinary cooperation and support of the Amish community, without which these studies would not have been possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland, 660 W. Redwood Street, Room 492, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    H. Shen, E. A. Streeten, K. A. Ryan, A. R. Shuldiner & B. D. Mitchell

  2. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 611 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104-3028, USA

    L. F. Bielak & P. A. Peyser

  3. Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    J. A. Rumberger

  4. HealthWISE Wellness Diagnostic Center, 5747 Perimeter Drive, Suite 105, Dublin, OH, 43017, USA

    J. A. Rumberger

  5. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, 200 First Street S.W., Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    P. F. Sheedy II

  6. Geriatrics Research and Education Clinical Center, VA Medical Center, 10 North Greene Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    A. R. Shuldiner

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  1. H. Shen
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  2. L. F. Bielak
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  9. B. D. Mitchell
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Correspondence to B. D. Mitchell.

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Shen, H., Bielak, L.F., Streeten, E.A. et al. Relationship between Vascular Calcification and Bone Mineral Density in the Old-Order Amish. Calcif Tissue Int 80, 244–250 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-007-9006-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-007-9006-4

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