Polygenic score for physical activity provides odds for multiple common diseases

2021

ABSTRACTPurposeIt has been suggested that genetic pleiotropy, in which the same genes affect two or more traits, may partially explain the frequently observed associations between high physical activity (PA) and later reduced morbidity or mortality. However, the evidence about pleiotropy from human studies is limited. This study investigated associations between PA polygenic risk scores (PRSs) and cardiometabolic diseases among the Finnish population.MethodsPRSs for device-measured overall PA were adapted to a FinnGen study cohort of 218,792 individuals with genome-wide genotyping and extensive digital longitudinal health register data. Associations between PA PRS and body mass index (BMI),…