Approved Research

The contribution of genetic risk and lifestyle factors in the development of CVD: a prospective cohort study

Lay summary

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has remained the leading cause of death globally. CVD is caused by combined effects of both genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors play some role in CVD. You could have an increased risk of CVD if you have family members with CVD, which can have genetic predisposition. In the meantime, environment factors could also play an important role in CVD. Neither genetic or environmental factors can independently cause CVD.

Considering CVD is a preventable disease, preventative measures through healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as adequate sleep, being physically active, maintaining a normal body weight, and avoiding tobacco and alcohol, can be used to prevent the burden of cardiovascular diseases. Recent evidence suggests that healthy lifestyle may help reduce cardiovascular disease risk, even among those with a higher genetic risk of cardiovascular disease. Adherence to lifestyle recommendations for cardiovascular prevention may even be greater benefit for those at higher genetic risk. However, these associations have not been comprehensively explored.

We will use a wide range of UK Biobank to investigate the combined effect of genetic and lifestyle factors on the development of cardiovascular disorders (CVD); to figure out to what extent the genetic risk of CVD may be mitigated by adherence to healthy lifestyle factors. This project will be undertaken over approximately 3 years. We hope that the findings will provide opportunities for the identification of cardiovascular high-risk groups. In addition, we hope that the findings could provide a viable strategy for targeted risk mitigation for cardiovascular diseases.