Association of leptin receptor polymorphisms Lys109Arg and Gln223Arg with serum leptin profile and bone mineral density in Korean women.

Objective: The objective of the study was to examine the relationship of the LEPR Lys109Arg and Gln223Arg polymorphisms and the serum leptin profile and bone mineral density (BMD).

Methods: Cross-sectional study on a cohort of 145 premenopausal and 118 postmenopausal Korean women. The BMDs and serum levels of leptin, the soluble leptin receptor (sLR), and estradiol were measured, and the LEPR gene was genotyped.

Results: The distributions of the LEPR Lys109Arg and Gln223Arg polymorphisms in all study subjects are as follows: Lys/Lys, 2.7%; Lys/Arg, 27.0%; Arg/Arg, 70.3%; Gln/Gln, 2.7%, Gln/Arg, 19.8%, and Arg/Arg, 77.5%, respectively. Premenopausal subjects carrying the Lys109 allele had a higher total hip BMD (P = .044) and showed a nonsignificant trend toward a higher femoral neck and lumbar BMD than the subjects without this allele.

Conclusions: Our study suggests the LEPR Lys109Arg polymorphism is one of the genetic determinants of the peak bone mass in Korean women.