Improving lifestyle is linked to lower inherited heart risk
Compared to a stable healthy lifestyle, an unhealthy lifestyle was linked to higher coronary artery disease risk, with a hazard ratio of 1.82 over 12.5 years.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers analyzed prospective cohort data from 315,000 adults of European ancestry, aged 40 to 69 at recruitment, followed for an average of 12.5 years in the UK Biobank. The study tracked lifestyle patterns—combining smoking, sleep, physical activity, diet, and body mass index across at least two time points—alongside polygenic risk scores for coronary artery disease.
Compared to maintaining a stable healthy lifestyle, a stable unhealthy lifestyle was linked to a higher risk of heart disease (hazard ratio 1.82), while an improving lifestyle showed a smaller increase (hazard ratio 1.22). For people with high genetic risk, an unhealthy lifestyle nearly tripled heart disease risk (hazard ratio 2.95). However, high-risk individuals who improved their habits saw a 44% risk reduction (hazard ratio 1.65).
Why it matters
Coronary artery disease is a leading cause of illness and death as people age. The findings suggest that adopting healthier behaviors in adulthood may substantially attenuate the cardiovascular risk conferred by genetics.
Caveats
Because this was an observational study, it cannot prove that lifestyle changes directly caused the lower disease rates. The analysis was also restricted to participants of European ancestry, so the findings may not apply to other groups.
