LONDON, UK- A new first-of-its-kind study has found that while a person’s genetics can mean a 21% greater risk of early death, a healthy lifestyle could offset this by more than 60% and add another five years to a person’s life.
“Genetic and lifestyle factors were independently associated with lifespan. Adherence to healthy lifestyles could largely attenuate the genetic risk of a shorter lifespan or premature death. The optimal combination of healthy lifestyles could convey better benefits for a longer lifespan, regardless of genetic background,” reads the report.
However, until now there has been no investigation to understand the extent to which a healthy lifestyle may counterbalance genetics.
Findings from several long-term studies suggest a healthy lifestyle could offset effects of life-shortening genes by 62% and add as much as five years to your life.
The results were published in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.
“This study elucidates the pivotal role of a healthy lifestyle in mitigating the impact of genetic factors on lifespan reduction,” the researchers concluded. “Public health policies for improving healthy lifestyles would serve as potent complements to conventional healthcare and mitigate the influence of genetic factors on human lifespan.”
The study involved 353,742 people from the UK Biobank and showed that those with a high genetic risk of a shorter life have a 21% increased risk of early death compared with those with a low genetic risk, regardless of their lifestyle.
Meanwhile, people with unhealthy lifestyles have a 78% increased chance of early death, regardless of their genetic risk, researchers from Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China and the University of Edinburgh found.
