Discovery of genetic loci associated with human sedentary behavior
Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, April 22 (Reporter Zhang Mengran) The British "Nature · Communication" magazine published a genetics study on the 21st. A team of European scientists reported for the first time the genetics associated with specific sedentary leisure activities in humans through genome-wide association studies Location. The researchers found that increasing the time spent watching TV may be a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
With changes in lifestyle, on the one hand, people gradually increase the proportion of static behaviors in daily life, such as using computers to study or work, watching TV, driving, etc .; on the other hand, there is a saying that static behaviors that are sedentary may increase The risk of cardiovascular disease, malignancy, and even the increased risk of death.
In order to truly understand the possible impact of genetics on human sedentary behavior, and whether sedentary behavior is a potential risk of coronary heart disease, researcher Nek Fovich and colleagues at the Medical Center of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands decided to conduct a whole genome Related research.
Using the data of 422,218 individuals of European descent (aged from 40 to 69 years) in the British Biobank "Biobank", the research team identified 169 genetic loci related to sedentary leisure activities, of which 145 were related to TV-related, 36 are related to computer use, 4 are related to driving, and 16 sites overlap between the above two sedentary traits.
In a Mendelian randomized analysis (a data analysis method that has been applied to epidemiological etiology inference in recent years), the research team predicted that the time spent watching TV increased by 1.5 hours per day (based on an average of 2.8 hours) ) Is a factor that increases the risk of coronary heart disease. However, the researchers did not find a link between computer use or driving and coronary heart disease this time.
The research team claims that the information about sedentary behavior comes from the subject ’s subjective observations, and the study does not include sedentary behavior related to their occupation. They pointed out that further research is needed to extend the analysis to all sedentary behaviors, physical activity and sleep behaviors.