Can Healthy Habits Beat Genetic Risks for Heart Disease?

A recent study has found that maintaining a healthy lifestyle can lower the actual risk of cardiovascular disease, even if there is a genetic predisposition to developing such conditions.

The research examining the impact of genetic risk factors and lifestyle on the incidence of cardiovascular disease was published in Nature Human Behavior.

Cardiovascular disease stands as one of the leading causes of death globally, driving extensive research into identifying those at higher risk and determining the most effective treatments.

The research team studied 96,400 adults from the China Kadoorie Biobank to examine how genetic risk factors and lifestyle habits influence the actual risk of cardiovascular disease.

First, the researchers developed polygenic risk scores to predict the genetic risk for coronary artery disease, ischemic stroke, or hemorrhagic stroke.

Based on these scores, they categorized the genetic risk for cardiovascular disease as low, intermediate, or high. The researchers also classified lifestyle habits such as smoking, diet, physical activity, and body mass index as favorable, intermediate, or unfavorable.

By comparing genetic risk levels with the actual incidence of cardiovascular disease, researchers discovered that individuals with a high genetic risk often developed cardiovascular disease at an earlier age—before 65 for women and before 55 for men.

Moreover, those with an unfavorable lifestyle had a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, particularly before age 60.

Interestingly, among those with a high genetic risk, maintaining a favorable lifestyle led to a significantly lower actual risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to those with an unfavorable lifestyle.

For example, individuals with a high genetic risk who led a healthy lifestyle had a 14.7 times lower risk of early-onset coronary artery disease, a 2.5 times lower risk of early-onset ischemic stroke, and a 2.6 times lower risk of late-onset coronary artery disease.

These findings suggest that even with a high genetic risk, a healthy lifestyle can substantially reduce the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease.

The research team concluded that, despite a high genetic predisposition, adopting a healthy lifestyle can significantly diminish the actual risk of cardiovascular conditions.