| Title: | Impact of lifestyle factors on adult-onset asthma in genetically high-risk individuals |
| Journal: | Journal of Global Health |
| Published: | 6 Jun 2025 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40476550/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.15.04147 |
Publication 15042
WARNING: the interactive features of this website use CSS3, which your browser does not support. To use the full features of this website, please update your browser.
Abstract
Background: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Identifying high-risk individuals for developing asthma is a major goal of primary prevention. Recent studies have reported that genetic factors can predict high-risk groups for various diseases. However, the understanding of genetically high-risk individuals for adult-onset asthma, which could be potential targets for preventive interventions, remains limited. Using a polygenic risk score (PRS), we identified a group of individuals at a genetically high risk for adult-onset asthma and examined their characteristics, as well as the degree of risk reduction through lifestyle factors.</p>
Methods: Using the asthma PRS provided by the UK Biobank, we identified a genetically high-risk group among unrelated White British individuals, including those with adult-onset asthma and a control group. We analysed the association between asthma-related lifestyle factors and adult-onset asthma in the high-risk group. Additionally, we conducted Kaplan-Meier analysis to investigate the cumulative incidence of adult-onset asthma by age of onset according to genetic risk and lifestyle status.</p>
Results: The high-risk group for adult-onset asthma had a 2.26 times higher risk of developing asthma compared to the average-risk group. Within the high-risk group, lifestyle factors, such as obesity-related traits, stress, insomnia, and snoring, were significantly associated with adult-onset asthma. Among individuals in the high-risk group, adhering to a favourable lifestyle can reduce the lifetime risk of adult-onset asthma by up to 40% compared to those with an unfavourable lifestyle.</p>
Conclusions: Based on this study, we suggest that the PRS can identify individuals at high risk of developing adult-onset asthma. Furthermore, our findings indicate that individuals with a genetically high risk may reduce their disease risk through appropriate lifestyle modifications, emphasising their potential to benefit significantly from primary prevention strategies. However, as this study is cross-sectional and assumes that lifestyle factors have remained unchanged, further prospective studies are required to validate these findings.</p>
12 Keywords
- Adult
- Age of Onset
- Aged
- Asthma
- Female
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Humans
- Life Style
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Risk Factors
- United Kingdom
8 Authors
- Shin Young Kwon
- Ji Eun Lim
- Hae-Un Jung
- Eun Ju Baek
- Hyein Jung
- Ji-One Kang
- Tae-Bum Kim
- Bermseok Oh
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 83990 | Genetic and environmental analysis for disease prediction models |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health