Bone density is one of the more heritable things about a body — and the thing that actually matters, whether it breaks, is much harder to predict.
Why this topic Strength training became the default advice for everyone over forty, and the weight-loss drugs raised a question about what is lost along with the fat.
Solid lines are connections this site curates. Dashed lines mean the two ends share a research paper — worth knowing, and not a claim that one explains the other.
Counted in Europe PMC, where the title or abstract names both this topic and that rsID. The number is papers, not evidence of a cause.
LRP5
Bone mineral density
29 papers →GC
Vitamin D levels
14 papers →MTHFR
Folate metabolism (MTHFR C677T)
10 papers →FTO
Menarche (age at onset)
7 papers →MCM6 / LCT
Lactose tolerance
6 papers →ALDH2
Alcohol flush reaction
6 papers →TGFB1
Colorectal cancer
5 papers →ESR1
Bone mineral density (spine)
5 papers →RANKL
Bone mineral density
4 papers →ESR1
Bone mineral density (hip)
4 papers →BDNF
Smoking behavior
4 papers →FTO
Obesity-related traits
4 papers →SPTBN1
Bone mineral density (spine)
3 papers →FTO
Obesity
3 papers →FTO
Obesity
3 papers →HLA-DQA2
Crohn's disease
3 papers →GIPR
Obesity
3 papers →NADSYN1
Vitamin D levels
3 papers →ZBTB40
Bone mineral density (spine)
3 papers →VKORC1
Warfarin sensitivity
3 papers →GIPR
Obesity
2 papers →MTHFR
Folate metabolism (MTHFR A1298C)
2 papers →ACTN3
Muscle fiber type ("sprinter gene")
2 papers →MYH6
Electrocardiographic traits
2 papers →FTO
Type 2 diabetes
2 papers →HMGA2
Head circumference (infant)
1 paper →CCL19
Rheumatoid arthritis
1 paper →BRSK1
Menarche and menopause (age at onset)
1 paper →STAT4
Systemic lupus erythematosus
1 paper →SHBG
Testosterone levels
1 paper →near ZBTB40
Inflammatory bowel disease
1 paper →ALDH7A1
Osteoporosis
1 paper →ATP2B1
Blood pressure
1 paper →CASR
Calcium levels
1 paper →CYP3A4
Metabolic traits
1 paper →LEPR
C-reactive protein
1 paper →IFIH1
Type 1 diabetes
1 paper →ESR1
Breast cancer
1 paper →AGER
Pulmonary function
1 paper →C12orf51
Renal function-related traits (BUN)
1 paper →ATG16L1
Crohn's disease
1 paper →PARVB
Hematological and biochemical traits
1 paper →C7orf58
Bone mineral density
1 paper →RAP1A
Osteoporosis-related phenotypes
1 paper →SCD
Metabolic traits
1 paper →near GALNT3
Bone mineral density (paediatric, total body less head)
1 paper →GCKR
Uric acid levels
1 paper →Europe PMC, title and abstract only, searched for “bone mineral density”, “osteoporosis”, “fracture risk” alongside each published rsID. Full text was not counted: it returns every paper with an rsID buried in a supplementary table. Recounted monthly.