Purpose: To determine the heritability of low bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip in Ashkenazi Jewish families.
Methods: BMD at hip was accessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 166 female subjects from 61 families. Variance component analysis was used to estimate genetic contributions.
Results: We observed significant genetic contributions to age-adjusted BMD at the femoral neck as measured by heritability 0.67 (P < 0.0001).
Conclusion: There is significant genetic determination in decreased BMD at the femoral neck in an Ashkenazi Jewish female population. These results warrant further gene mapping studies in this population to identify osteoporosis susceptibility loci.