Even if your genetics put you at greater risk for early death, a healthy lifestyle could help you significantly combat it, according to a new study.
That risk could be mitigated by about 62 percent in people with a genetic predisposition, said lead author Dr. Xifeng Wu, dean of the School of Public Health at Zhejiang Univeristy School of Medicine in China.
Many studies have shown the connection between a healthy lifestyle and longevity and others have underscored the genetic component in lifespan, but the report published Monday in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine explored how the two come together.
With data from more than 350,000 people and information on their genetics, education, socioeconomic status and disease history, this study had strong methodology, said Dr. Aladdin Shadyab, associate professor of public health and medicine at University of California San Diego. He was not involved in the research. The sample was made up of people with European ancestry so it is limited in the populations to which it can be applied, Shadyab added.
The researchers gave each individual a polygenetic risk score, which is a score summarising the presence of multiple genes found to impact human lifespan, according to the study. The study participants also received a score based on how they adhered to healthy lifestyle tenets, and then were followed for an average of 13 years to see if they had a short, intermediate or long lifespan.
Everyone, regardless of their genetic risks, were 78 percent more likely to die early if they had an unhealthy lifestyle, the data showed.
And people with both a genetic risk for a short lifespan and an unhealthy lifestyle were twice as likely to die early as those without genetic risk and healthier lifestyles, said Wu, who is also director of National Institute for Data Science in Health and Medicine of Zhejiang University.
Individuals with genetic risk could extend their lifespan by up to 5.5 years with a healthy lifestyle, the data showed.
“Adherence to a healthy lifestyle could substantially attenuate the lifespan reduction for individuals with genetic susceptibility to a shorter lifespan,” Wu said.
Factors that made a difference
The study was observational, meaning that it could determine associations but could not say for sure that the behaviors were the direct cause of the changes in lifespan. But researchers were able to identify four factors that were associated with the biggest impact on risk of early death.
“The study identified an optimal lifestyle combination containing four lifestyle factors — no current smoking, regular physical activity, adequate sleep duration, and a healthy diet — that offered better benefits for prolonging human lifespan,” Wu said. -CNN
