| Objective To evaluate the published date on the association between calcitonin receptor (CRT) polymorphism and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal Chinese women. Methods An online search from PubMed, Embase, the Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP, Wanfang, and the Chinese Biomedicine Database (CBD) was conducted to identify studies linking calcitonin receptor polymorphisms and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Chinese women. The data were screened based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals was calculated using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software. Publication bias and sensitivity analysis were also assessed. Results Seven relevant publications involving 1702 cases were included. Meta-analysis showed that the CRT polymorphism was associated with BMD of the lumbar spine (L2-4), greater trochanter, and Ward’s in northern Chinese postmenopausal women (P<0.05), but this significant association only presented in the greater trochanter in southern Chinese postmenopausal women. Interestingly, northern individuals with CC genotype had a higher BMD in the greater trochanter (CC vs CT: WMD = 0.05, 95% CI= 0.03-0.08, P<0.00001; CC vs CT+TT: WMD = 0.04, 95% CI= 0.01-0.07, P=0.003). The situation in southern subjects was just opposite (CC vs CT: WMD = -0.35, 95% CI= -0.66--0.03, P=0.03; CC vs CT+TT: WMD = -0.36, 95% CI= -0.67-0.05, P=0.02). Conclusion CRT polymorphism may be associated with BMD in postmenopausal Chinese women, and it may become a useful genetic marker for predicting the risk of osteoporosis and fracture. |