Molecular biology reports
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Molecular biology reports · Mar 2012
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism and risk of osteoporotic fracture.
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an estrogen degrading enzyme. The COMT Val158Met polymorphism is associated with bone mineral density. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between COMT Val158Met and osteoporotic fractures in Chinese Han patients. ⋯ When stratified by the fracture type, there was a significantly lower frequency of Val/Val genotype in patients with vertebral fracture (OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.36-0.94, P = 0.03) than controls. There was no significant difference in the distribution of each genotype between patients with hip fracture and the control group. Our findings suggest that COMT Val/Val genotype was associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic fracture in Chinese population, especially to vertebral fracture.