Research results
This study analyzed data from nearly half a million UK participants in Biobank (a UK biometric research and data collection project, designed to study factors affecting health, including genetics, lifestyle, environment and social factors), to assess the impact of 164 environmental factors and genetic factors on 22 major diseases related to age, aging and premature death. The results were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
According to the study, environmental factors increased the risk of premature death by 17% in participants, while genetic factors accounted for less than 2%.
Among the environmental factors that were assessed, including: smoking, socio-economic status (such as income, house ownership and employment), physical activity and living conditions that have the strongest impact on mortality and biological aging.
In particular, smoking habits are related to 21 diseases, socio-economic conditions affecting 19 diseases, and physical activity is related to 17 diseases.
The importance of building habits and lifestyles early
Factors in the early stages of life, such as a child's body weight or the mother's smoking during pregnancy, can have a long-term impact on the aging process and the risk of premature death in children. This proves that lifestyle habits from a young age have a strong impact on your health later on.
Big impact of environmental factors
Environmental factors have a particularly strong impact on lung, cardiovascular and liver diseases, while genetic factors dominate diseases such as dementia and breast cancer.
Research has shown that the profound effects of environmental exposure can be changed, through measures to improve socio-economic conditions and promote physical activity, says Professor Cornelia van Duijn, lead author of the study.
Note
Although genetic factors play an important role in determining the risk of certain diseases, such as hereditary cancer or other genetic diseases, research shows that environmental and lifestyle factors have a greater impact on overall health.
Living in a polluted environment, limited living conditions and unhealthy communities or social relationships will also significantly affect health and longevity. Therefore, changing bad habits or improving living conditions can help reduce the risk of disease and improve the quality of life and long-term health.
