Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39420153›Full record

ArticlePediatric research2025

Associations of ethnicity, skin tone, and genome-wide sequencing with bone mineral density in adolescents.

Catherine M Gordon, Abby F Fleisch, Marie-France Hivert, Lisa B Rokoff, Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman, Jean L Raphael, Emily Oken

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In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Catherine M GordonDivision of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA. catherine.gordon@nih.gov.
Abby F FleischCenter for Interdisciplinary Population and Health Research, MaineHealth Institute for Research, Portland, ME, USA.
Marie-France HivertDiabetes Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Lisa B RokoffCenter for Interdisciplinary Population and Health Research, MaineHealth Institute for Research, Portland, ME, USA.
Sheryl L Rifas-ShimanDivision of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
Jean L RaphaelDepartment of Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Emily OkenDivision of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.

Funding

Prenatal environmental determinants of health in young adulthood: a lifecourse approachR01HD034568 · NICHD · HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE, INC. · PI Marie-France Hivert, Emily Oken · 1998 to 2026
$20.6M
Prospective associations of childhood PFAS with metabolomic profiles, pubertal timing, and bone healthR01ES030101 · NIEHS · MAINEHEALTH · PI Abby Fleisch · 2019 to 2026
$3.6M
Maintain and Enrich Resource Infrastructure for Project Viva: a pre-birth cohort with follow up into adolescenceR24ES030894 · NIEHS · HARVARD PILGRIM HEALTH CARE, INC. · PI OKEN, EMILY · 2020 to 2024
$2.0M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD034568NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES030101NIEHS NIH HHS R24 ES030894
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDual-energy x-ray absorptiometry reference data designate Black and non-Black categories, as higher BMD has been documented among Black youth. We examined associations of race, skin tone, and genetic factors with bone mineral density (BMD).

methods557 adolescents were followed longitudinally. Exposures included race, skin tone, and principal components (PC) from genome-wide arrays. Total body BMD Z-score (BMD-Z) was the primary outcome using linear regression.

results359 adolescents identified as non-Hispanic White (NHW) and 75, non-Hispanic Black (NHB). BMD-Z was higher in NHB vs. NHW (β: 0.92 units, 95% CI: 0.64, 1.19) or those with darker skin (0.79, 95% CI: 0.49, 1.08 for brown vs. medium). The first genetic PC (PC1) correlated with identification as NHB. PC1 was associated with higher BMD-Z (0.09, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.12), even after including race (0.07, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.14) or skin tone (0.10, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.15); both race (0.26, 95% CI: -0.49, 1.01 for NHB vs. NHW) and skin tone (-0.08, 95% CI: -0.59, 0.44 for brown vs. medium) no longer predicted BMD-Z after adjustment for PC1.

conclusionGenetic similarity was robustly associated with BMD, prompting a reevaluation of adolescent BMD reference data to exclude the consideration of race. IMPACT: Current bone density reference databases include a binary assignment of patients into "Black" and "non-Black" categories, as a higher BMD has been documented among those identifying as Black compared with individuals of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. This study found genetic similarity to be more strongly associated with bone density by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry than race or skin tone. These data emphasize a need to reevaluate how bone density measurements are interpreted, including exploring reference data that exclude the consideration of race.

Indexed as

Bone DensityGenome-Wide Association StudySkin PigmentationAbsorptiometry, PhotonAdolescentBlack or African AmericanFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMalePrincipal Component AnalysisWhite

Identifiers

PMID39420153
PMCPMC12003700

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.