Physical activity, genetic predisposition, and incident cardiovascular disease: Prospective analyses of the UK Biobank

Abstract

It is unclear whether physical activity can benefit participants with high genetic predisposition to cardiovascular disease. The study examines the joint associations of intensity-specific physical activity and genetic predisposition (based on polygenetic risk score) with incident coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and atrial fibrillation (AF). This prospective cohort study included 303,950 adults (age = 56.4 ± 8.0 years, mean ± SD; 52.5% females) from the UK Biobank with physical activity and disease-related genotypes. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and intensity-specific activity was classified according to volume (e.g., MVPA was classified as none, low, medium, and high). Genetic predisposition for CHD, stroke, and AF were classified as low (Quintile 1), intermediate (Quintiles 2–4), and high (Quintile 5).