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How much can a healthy lifestyle offset an elevated genetic risk for coronary artery disease (CAD)? These researchers analyzed genetic and lifestyle data from three prospective cohort studies (N=51,425). The authors quantified individuals' genetic risk via polygenic scores of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with CAD. They also evaluated four healthy-lifestyle factors: no current smoking, no obesity, regular physical activity, and a healthy diet.
A high genetic risk for CAD (top quintile of polygenic scores) was associated with a 91% higher relative risk for incident coronary events, compared with low genetic risk (bottom quintile). Among individuals at high genetic risk, the relative risk for coronary events was 46% lower with a f…