Environmental exposures and lifestyle factors have a stronger impact on a person’s health and premature death than their genes, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Oxford Population Health.
For the study, which was published this week in Nature Medicine, researchers used data from the U.K. Biobank of almost 500,000 individuals to analyze the impact of 164 environmental exposures and genetic risk scores for 22 major diseases.
The study identified a range of factors as “major drivers” of premature death and aging, such as smoking, socioeconomic status and deprivation, ethnicity, physical activity, living with a partner, and sleep and mental and physical wellness.
“Our research demonstrates the profound health impact of exposures that can be changed either by individuals or through policies to improve socioeconomic conditions, reduce smoking, or promote physical activity,” said Cornelia van Duijn, St Cross professor of epidemiology at Oxford Population Health and senior study author, in a statement. “While genes play a key role in brain conditions and some cancers, our findings highlight opportunities to mitigate the risks of chronic diseases of the lung, heart and liver which are leading causes of disability and death globally. The early life exposures are particularly important as they show that environmental factors accelerate ageing early in life but leave ample opportunity to prevent long-lasting diseases and early death.”
Key findings include:
- Environmental factors explained 17 percent of the variation in risk of death, whereas there was less than two percent explained by genetics.
- Smoking, socioeconomic status, physical activity, and living conditions were the leading environmental factors with the most impact on mortality and aging.
- Smoking was associated with 21 diseases; socioeconomic factors such as household income, home ownership, and employment status, were associated with 19 diseases; and physical activity was associated with 17 diseases.
- Early life exposures were also found to impact aging and risk of premature death 30-80 years later, including body weight at age 10 and maternal smoking around birth.
- Environmental exposures had a greater influence on diseases of the lung, heart, and liver, whereas genetic risks impacted dementias and breast cancer.
- Living with a partner was one of the most protective factors identified in preventing premature mortality.