Research

Hormonal

The BclI polymorphism (G-allele) of the glucocorticoid receptor gene is associated with increased sensitivity to glucocorticoids, resulting in lower body mass index (BMI) and lean body mass in elderly populations.

If you are older and find it difficult to maintain muscle mass despite stable weight, your body may be genetically hypersensitive to cortisol. This sensitivity can lead to muscle loss (lower lean mass) rather than fat gain. Focus on resistance training to preserve lean mass, as your body may be more prone to catabolic effects from stress or endogenous cortisol.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
We characterized a BclI-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) of the GR gene as a C/G polymorphism in intron 2 of which the G-allele was associated with hypersensitivity to glucocorticoids. This resulted in a lower BMI in older individuals in general, while our study in elderly males suggests that the lower BMI is probably due to a greater loss of lean mass during the ageing process.
Elisabeth F. C. van Rossum et al. · Clinical Endocrinology · 2003

Why this rating

Large sample sizes (up to 1963 subjects) and consistent findings across multiple tests (1mg and 0.25mg DST) and populations, though observational.

Source

Identification of the <i>Bcl</i>I polymorphism in the glucocorticoid receptor gene: association with sensitivity to glucocorticoids <i>in vivo</i> and body mass index

Elisabeth F. C. van Rossum et al. · Clinical Endocrinology · 2003

DOI 10.1046/j.1365-2265.2003.01888.x

cohort · n=2524Cited 315×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →