IL1B and osteoporosis: Kim et al showed that there was an association between bone mass and IL-1 system polymorphisms in postmenopausal Korean women.7 The polymorphisms of IL-1 system, the IL-1α (-889 C/T), IL-1β (-511 C/T) and IL-1ra (86-bp VNTR), have been shown to be strong heritable components,8–10 but only a few studies have examined the possible relationships between the IL-1 system polymorphisms and osteoporosis, and the results are controversial.11–14 The relationship between IL-1 system and osteoporosis needs to be elucidated for different populations.