Associations of polygenic inheritance of physical activity with aerobic fitness, cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases: the HUNT study

AbstractPhysical activity (PA), aerobic fitness, and cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) are highly heritable multifactorial phenotypes. Shared genetic factors may underlie the associations between higher levels of PA and better aerobic fitness and a lower risk for CMDs. We aimed to study how PA genotype associates with self-reported PA, aerobic fitness, cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases. PA genotype, which combined variation in over one million of gene variants, was composed using the SBayesR polygenic scoring methodology. First, we constructed a polygenic risk score for PA in the Tr øndelag Health Study (N = 47,148) using UK Biobank single nucleotide polymorphism-specific weights (N = 400,124). The associations of the PA PRS and continuous variables were analysed using linear regression models and with CMD incidences using Cox proportional hazard models. The results sh owed that genotypes predisposing to higher amount of PA were associated with greater self-reported PA (Beta [B]  = 0.282 MET-h/wk per SD of PRS for PA, 95% confidence interval [CI]  = 0.211, 0.354) but not with aerobic fitness. These genotypes were also associated with healthier cardiometabolic profile (waist circumference [B  =  -0.003 cm, 95%CI  = -0.004, -0.002], body mass index [B  =  -0.002 kg/m2,  95%CI = -0.004, -0.001], high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [B = 0.004 mmol/L, 95%CI  = 0.002, 0.006]) and lower incidence of hypertensive diseases (Hazard Ratio[HR] = ...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research