Incorrect Lifestyle has a much greater impact on the risk of stroke than genes

Study shows that Lifestyle has a greater effect on the risk of stroke than genes

In a recent study has shown that Lifestyle affects more on the risk of stroke than the genes. According to the researchers, people who live a healthy life can compensate for genetic disadvantages of something. An unhealthy lifestyle and bad genes add up, however.

One of the most common causes of death in Germany

According to health experts, around 270,000 people in Germany suffer a stroke every year. The so-called cerebral infarction is one of the most common causes of death in this country. The stroke risk, according to experts, a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet, physical activity, avoidance of Overweight and normal cholesterol values as well as the certain risk-Prevention factors such as high blood pressure, type 2 Diabetes, atrial fibrillation and lipid disorders reduce. What a large role a healthy lifestyle plays in the prevention of stroke, has also been shown in a published study.

Reducing the risk of stroke is influenced

As the German society of neurology e. V. in a communication writes, is affected, the risk of having a stroke, both by genetic and by environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle.

But what weighs more? According to the results of international research teams the wrong genes increase the risk of stroke by a third, the wrong life-style however, around two-thirds of both factors act independently of each other.

Who lives healthy, it can compensate accordingly, i.e. the genetic disadvantages of something.

“The results show that a healthy life is worth the style for stroke prevention, irrespective of the genetic risk profile”, said Prof. Dr. med. Martin Dichgans, 2. Chairman of the German stroke society (DSG), was involved from the German side of the study.

The results of the study of the German-British team of researchers led by Dr. Loes Rutten-Jacobs from the German center for Neurodegenerative diseases (DZNE) in Bonn have been published in the “British Medical Journal”.

Genetic profiles and Lifestyle analyses

The information, according to the researchers based their investigations on the MEGA stroke analysis, on the basis of genome-wide Association studies: genetic stroke risk factors has tracked at about 520,000 white Europeans.

Therein, 90 with stroke-associated gene variants have been discovered. On this Basis, the scientists working with Dr. Rutten-Jacobs developed a risk Score and applied it to the British prospective Biobank cohort study.

The UK Biobank containing the biological information of 500,000 Britons between the ages of 40 and 69 years of age: genetic profiles, as well as detailed information on diet and life style.

On the basis of their genetic risk Scores, those Biobank participants who had suffered neither a stroke nor a heart attack were divided into three groups: Those with high, medium and low genetic risk of stroke.

In addition, the researchers grouped the persons according to the guidelines of the American Heart Association (AHA) in categories with a healthy, moderately healthy, and unhealthy life style.

Healthy lives, according to the AHA, people who smoke, not too thick (BMI under 30), with a lot of fruit, vegetables and fish healthy, fed, and per week for at least three hours of moderate or one and a half hours of intensive sports.

Smoking and Overweight risk of stroke increase by 66 percent

A total of 2.077 the 306.473 participants suffered in the course of seven years of a first stroke and, as the researchers, hospital and mortality registries withdrawals.

The data indicate that the risk of stroke was among the people with a high genetic risk to 35 percent higher than in those with low genetic risk, regardless of the life style. If there is a moderate genetic risk, the Rate was increased to 20 percent.

Significantly, the Association with life-style: a participant was with an unhealthy way of life, 66 percent suffered more likely to have a stroke than healthy living people, regardless of genetic risk.

In the case of such a who lived to be moderately healthy, there was a 27 percent increase in stroke rate.

Bad genes and an unhealthy Lifestyle add up

Bad genes and an unhealthy lifestyle increase independently the risk of stroke, adding how the scientists were able to show.

For people with unfavorable genes, and at the same time, unhealthy life style, they found a 130 percent stroke rate is increased compared to individuals with low genetic risk and healthy life-style.

Most wore-related stroke risk with Smoking and increased BMI to a life-style. In men, both genes as well as lifestyle factors had a greater effect than in women.

“The results show that a healthy life is worth the style for stroke prevention, irrespective of the genetic risk profile. Men should pay particular attention to a healthy way of life“, Prof. Dr. med. Martin Dichgans, Institute for stroke and dementia research (ISD), Klinikum of the University Munich of the German side of the study. (ad)