Abstract
Results on the relationships between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) susceptibility and bone mineral density (BMD) are conflicting. The aim of the study is to identify more eligible studies that calculated pooled OR and WMD with 95% CI to assess their associations. Overall, there were significant correlations between VDR ApaI, VDR FokI and PMOP susceptibility. Subgroup analysis showed that VDR ApaI polymorphism significantly decreased the osteoporosis risk in Caucasian postmenopausal women. In Asian populations, VDR BsmI and VDR FokI were associated with an increased risk of PMOP. As to the associations between VDR polymorphisms and BMD, Caucasian PMOP women carrying the ApaI aa genotype were at risk of high BMD in femoral neck, and low femoral neck BMD was observed in Caucasian PMOP women with FokI Ff genotype. PMOP women with the Cdx2 GA genotype had a lower lumbar spine BMD in overall and Caucasian populations compared with PMOP women with GG genotype. Different VDR gene polymorphisms have different impacts on PMOP risk and BMD.