Genetic Risk, Lifestyle Predict CVD, Diabetes Independently

THURSDAY, June 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Genetic risk and lifestyle are independent predictors of incident cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to a study published online June 27 in JAMA Cardiology.

M. Abdullah Said, from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues examined the correlation of combined health behaviors and factors within genetic risk groups with coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, stroke, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. A total of 339,003 unrelated individuals of white British descent with available genotype and matching genetic data from the U.K. Biobank cohort study were included in this study. Genetic risk was categorized as low, intermediate, or high; within each group, the risks of incident events associated with ideal, intermediate, or poor combined health behaviors and factors were assessed.

The researchers found that 3, 2.1, 0.9, 4.8, and 1.4 percent of 325,133 participants developed coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes, respectively, during follow-up. Genetic risk and lifestyle were found to be independent predictors of incident events, with no interactions for any outcome. Poor lifestyle in the high genetic risk group was correlated with hazard ratios of up to 4.54, 5.41, 4.68, 2.26, and 15.46, respectively, for coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, stroke, and diabetes compared with ideal lifestyle in the low genetic risk group.

"Genetic composition and combined health behaviors and factors had a log-additive effect on the risk of developing cardiovascular disease," the authors write.

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