Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
health day
TUESDAY, April 30, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Doctors say genetics are not destiny when it comes to a person's health, and one study seems to support that idea.
Researchers have found that a healthy lifestyle can offset the effects of genes that shorten lifespan by more than 60%.
People at high genetic risk for shortened lifespans could add nearly 5.5 years to their life expectancy by adopting a healthy lifestyle by age 40, research shows.
On the other hand, an unhealthy lifestyle is associated with a 78% increased risk of premature death, regardless of a person's genetic predisposition.
The study highlights that “a healthy lifestyle plays a vital role in mitigating the influence of genetic factors on shortened lifespan,” says Zhejiang University Second Affiliated Hospital Clinical Big Data・A research team led by Dr. Xue Li of the Analysis Center concluded. School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China.
“Public health policies to improve healthy lifestyles would be a powerful complement to conventional medicine and reduce the influence of genetic factors on human longevity,” the researchers said.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from around 354,000 people taking part in the UK Biobank Genetics and Health Study. More than 24,000 people died during an average follow-up of nearly 13 years.
Each person was scored based on their genetic health risks and also received a score on lifestyle health.
According to researchers, a healthy lifestyle includes smoking cessation, drinking alcohol in moderation, regular physical activity, a healthy body shape, getting enough sleep, and eating a healthy diet.
Based on these indicators, approximately 23% had a perfectly healthy lifestyle, 56% had a moderately healthy lifestyle, and 22% had an unhealthy lifestyle. I was there.
People who were genetically predisposed to live short lives were 21% more likely than those who were genetically predisposed to live long lives, regardless of their lifestyle.
However, people with unhealthy lifestyles were 78% more likely to die early than those with healthy lifestyles, regardless of genetics.
Overall, results show that people with a combination of bad genetics and an unhealthy lifestyle are twice as likely to die compared to people with good genes and a healthy lifestyle. .
Researchers say four factors in particular contribute to a healthy lifestyle that made a difference in longevity: smoking cessation, regular exercise, quality sleep, and a healthy diet.
sauce: BMJNews Release, April 29, 2024
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.