Genetic effects on bone mass and turnover-relevance to black/white differences.

The mass of a bone is given by its volume and its apparent density—mass per unit external volume. Most measurements of so-called density are of mass incompletely normalized by some index of bone size. Genes control about 60% to 75% of the variance of peak bone mass/density and a much smaller proportion of the variance in rate of loss. Genetic influence on bone mass/density are mediated in large part by body size, bone size, and muscle mass. Most of the fifty-fold increase in bone mass from birth to maturity is due to bone growth, which is linked to muscle growth and bodily growth. Three-D apparent bone density in the vertebrae increases about 15% during the pubertal growth spurt. The genetic potential for bone accumulation can be frustrated by insufficient calcium intake, disruption of the calendar of puberty and inadequate physical activity. The growing skeleton is much more responsive than the mature skeleton to the osteotrophic effect of exercise, which is mediated by the detection of deviations from a...