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.
In the news
2026-07-10 · Chai RC, et al., Nature Genetics 2026, PMID:42432248
Which cells do the genes for bone density act in? This study mapped 34 distinct cell types in skeletal tissue with single-cell methods across species, then ranked them by enrichment for rare skeletal disorder genes and for bone-mineral-density genes from an extended UK Biobank genome-wide study (448,010 people of European ancestry in the GWAS Catalog's record), with functional validation in over 1,000 genetically modified mouse models. Beside the expected lineages that build and resorb bone — osteoblast, chondrocyte, osteoclast — two kinds of blood vessel cell, endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells, emerged as newly relevant to skeletal disease. 249 of the study's positions are already on this site, 205 of them on the heel bone mineral density page, including rs7741021 (RSPO3), rs2982573 (ESR1) and rs4505759 (FGFRL1). PMID:42432248.
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What this topic connects to
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.
Variants that share a paper with this
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.
rs3736228
LRP5
Bone mineral density
29 papers →rs2282679
GC
Vitamin D levels
14 papers →rs1801133
MTHFR
Folate metabolism (MTHFR C677T)
10 papers →rs7776725
FAM3C
Bone mineral density (paediatric, total body less head)
9 papers →rs9939609
FTO
Menarche (age at onset)
7 papers →rs4988235
MCM6 / LCT
Lactose tolerance
6 papers →rs671
ALDH2
Alcohol flush reaction
6 papers →rs1800469
TGFB1
Colorectal cancer
5 papers →rs4870044
ESR1
Bone mineral density (spine)
5 papers →rs1021188
RANKL
Bone mineral density
4 papers →rs1038304
ESR1
Bone mineral density (hip)
4 papers →rs6265
BDNF
Smoking behavior
4 papers →rs9930506
FTO
Obesity-related traits
4 papers →rs11898505
SPTBN1
Bone mineral density (spine)
3 papers →rs1421085
FTO
Obesity
3 papers →rs1558902
FTO
Obesity
3 papers →rs1799964
HLA-DQA2
Crohn's disease
3 papers →rs1800437
GIPR
Obesity
3 papers →rs3829251
NADSYN1
Vitamin D levels
3 papers →rs429358
APOE
Lewy body disease
3 papers →rs7524102
ZBTB40
Bone mineral density (spine)
3 papers →rs9923231
VKORC1
Warfarin sensitivity
3 papers →rs10416265
GPATCH1
Bone properties (heel)
2 papers →rs10423928
GIPR
Obesity
2 papers →rs11951031
MEF2C
Bone mineral density
2 papers →rs1339227
RIMS1
Schizophrenia
2 papers →rs1801131
MTHFR
Folate metabolism (MTHFR A1298C)
2 papers →rs1815739
ACTN3
Muscle fiber type ("sprinter gene")
2 papers →rs3020331
ESR1
Bone properties (heel)
2 papers →rs365990
MYH6
Electrocardiographic traits
2 papers →rs3794060
DHCR7
Systemic lupus erythematosus
2 papers →rs8050136
FTO
Type 2 diabetes
2 papers →rs1042725
HMGA2
Head circumference (infant)
1 paper →rs115242848
EN1
Bone mineral density (spine)
1 paper →rs11574914
CCL19
Rheumatoid arthritis
1 paper →rs11684176
PLCL1
Systemic lupus erythematosus
1 paper →rs1172822
BRSK1
Menarche and menopause (age at onset)
1 paper →rs11889341
STAT4
Systemic lupus erythematosus
1 paper →rs12150660
SHBG
Testosterone levels
1 paper →rs12568930
near ZBTB40
Inflammatory bowel disease
1 paper →rs13182402
ALDH7A1
Osteoporosis
1 paper →rs17249754
ATP2B1
Blood pressure
1 paper →rs17251221
CASR
Calcium levels
1 paper →rs17277546
CYP3A4
Metabolic traits
1 paper →rs174583
FADS2
QT interval
1 paper →rs17563
BMP4
Primary tooth development (time to first tooth eruption)
1 paper →rs1805096
LEPR
C-reactive protein
1 paper →rs1990760
IFIH1
Type 1 diabetes
1 paper →rs2046210
ESR1
Breast cancer
1 paper →rs2070600
AGER
Pulmonary function
1 paper →rs2074356
C12orf51
Renal function-related traits (BUN)
1 paper →rs2241880
ATG16L1
Crohn's disease
1 paper →rs2896019
PARVB
Hematological and biochemical traits
1 paper →rs2982552
ESR1
Bone properties (heel)
1 paper →rs4609139
C7orf58
Bone mineral density
1 paper →rs494453
RAP1A
Osteoporosis-related phenotypes
1 paper →rs577721086
RSPO3
Bone mineral density (spine)
1 paper →rs603424
SCD
Metabolic traits
1 paper →rs6726821
near GALNT3
Bone mineral density (paediatric, total body less head)
1 paper →rs701006
OS9
Multiple sclerosis
1 paper →rs776746
CYP3A5
CYP3A5 expression (*3 allele)
1 paper →rs780094
GCKR
Uric acid levels
1 paper →How this was counted
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.
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Bones and fractures. MyGeneLog™. https://www.mygenelog.com/topics/bones
Questions about Bones and fractures
What is Bones and fractures?
Bones and fractures is this site's topic page for skeletal genetics — bone density is one of the more heritable things about a body, but whether a bone actually breaks is much harder to predict.
Is bone density genetic?
Yes, more than most body measurements — bone mineral density is one of the more heritable traits in medicine. But fracture risk, the thing that actually matters, is shaped by far more than density.
Why are bones and fractures a topic on this site now?
Strength training became the default advice for everyone over forty, and weight-loss drugs raised a new question about what else is lost along with the fat — including bone.
How does this site decide which variants are linked to bones and fractures?
Europe PMC is searched for bone mineral density, osteoporosis or fracture risk appearing in a paper's title or abstract alongside a published rsID, recounted every month.