The effects of dopamine receptor genes on the trajectories of sport participation from adolescence through young adulthood

Are there differences between Mediterranean diet and the consumption of harmful substances on quality of life?-an explanatory model in secondary education regarding gender

Background

Adolescence is a key life stage in human development. It is during this stage of development that healthy and physical behaviors are acquired that will last into adulthood. Gender differences in the acquisition of these behaviors have been observed. This research aims to (a) study the levels of Mediterranean diet adherence, quality of life and alcohol and tobacco consumption as regarding the gender of the participants and (b) study the effects of the variable adherence to the Mediterranean diet, alcohol consumption and tobacco consumption on quality of life as a function of the gender of the participants.

Methods

A non-experimental, cross-sectional, exploratory study was carried out in a sample of 1,057 Spanish adolescents (Average Age = 14.19; Standard Deviation = 2.87).

Results

The comparative analysis shows that the male teenagers shows a higher Mediterranean diet adherence compared to the male adolescents (p ≤ 0.05) and a higher consumption of alcoholic beverages (p ≤ 0.05). On the contrary, adolescent girls show a higher consumption of alcoholic beverages than male participants (p ≤ 0.05). The exploratory analysis indicates that for boys, alcohol consumption has a beneficial effect on the quality of life of adolescents (β = 0.904; p ≤ 0.001).

Conclusion

In this case, participants show differences in the levels of Mediterranean diet adherence, consumption of harmful substances and quality of life according to gender. Likewise, there are different effects between the variables according to gender. Therefore, gender is a key factor to consider during adolescence.

Genome-wide assessment reveals a significant association between ACSS3 and physical activity

Recent genetic studies have identified physical activity (PA)-susceptible loci in European ancestry subjects; however, due to considerable genetic differences, these findings are not likely extendable to East Asian populations. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify significantly associated PA-susceptible loci using genome-wide association studies (GWASs) with East Asian (EAS) subjects and to generalize the findings to European (EUR) ancestries. The mRNA levels of genes located near the genome-wide significantly associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were compared under PA and control conditions. Rs74937256, located in ACSS3 (chromosome 12), which primarily functions in skeletal muscle tissues, was identified as a genome-wide significant variant (P = 6.06 × 10^-9 ) in EAS. Additionally, the rs2525840, also in ACSS3 satisfied the Bonferroni corrected significance (P = 3.77 × 10^-5 ) in EUR. We found that rs74937256 is an expressed trait locus of ACSS3 (P = 10^-4 ), and ACSS3 mRNA expression significantly differs after PA, based on PrediXcan (P = 7 × 10^-8 ) and the gene expression omnibus database (P = 0.043).

Regular Exercise with Suicide Ideation, Suicide Plan and Suicide Attempt in University Students: Data from the Health Minds Survey 2018–2019

Background: Participating in exercise has been frequently recognized as a protective factor of suicide-related outcome (e.g., suicidal ideation) in children and adolescents, albeit with less of a focus on university/college students (especially using nationally representative sample). This study aimed to explore the associations between regular exercise with suicide ideation, plan, and suicide attempts using the data from Health Minds Survey (2018–2019 round). Methods: Using the cross-sectional data from a nationally representative sample (n = 62,026; mean age = 23.1 years) with self-reported information on exercise and the three suicide-related measures, binary logistic regression was used to estimate the associations of exercise with suicide ideation, plans, and attempts, respectively, while controlling for age, gender, being an international student or not, and race/ethnicity. Results: Compared with university students reporting five or more hours for exercise a week, those reporting less were more likely to report yes in terms of suicide ideation and a similar association was also observed in exercise and suicide plan. However, exercise was not significantly associated with suicide attempts. Conclusion: Spending more time exercising may be a protective factor against suicide ideation and plan for university students. Owing to the cross-sectional design nature, our research findings should be further investigated for confirmation or negation.

Impact of the DRD2 Polymorphisms on the Effectiveness of the Training Program

Dopamine receptor D2 gene (DRD2) polymorphisms have been associated with cognitive abilities, obesity, addictions, and physical-activity-related behaviors, which may underlie differences in the effectiveness of training programs. What is not yet clear is the impact of DRD2 polymorphisms on the effectiveness of exercise programs. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between the DRD2 polymorphic sites (rs1076560, rs12364283, rs1799732, rs1800497, and rs1800498) and the body's response to regular physical activity. We studied genotypes and haplotypes distribution in a group of 165 females measured for body mass and body composition measurements, lipid profile, and glucose levels before and after realization of a 12-week training program. When tested individually, statistical analyses revealed one significant genotype by training interaction under the general model (for the basal metabolic rate, BMR, p = 0.033). Carriers of the rs1076560 CC genotype exhibited a decrease in BMR in response to training (p = 0.006). Haplotype analyses also showed that (i) the CACCC and CACTT haplotypes were associated with a post-training decrease in glucose level (β = -4.11, p = 0.032; β = -6.86, p = 0.020, respectively); (ii) the CGCCT with an increase in BMR (β = 0.65, p = 0.003) and fat free mass (FFM, β = 1.20, p = 0.009); (iii) the CA-CT with a decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL, β = -17.26, p = 0.046). These results provide some evidence that the DRD2 polymorphisms may play a role in post-training changes in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and, as a consequence, in the effectiveness of training programs.

Long-term effects of adolescent sport experience, DRD2 and COMT genes, and their interaction on sport participation in adulthood

BACKGROUND

The present study investigated the joint impact of adolescent sport experience and dopamine-related genes (i.e., DRD2 and COMT genes) on sport participation in adulthood.

METHODS

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data, the hierarchical multivariable logistic regression models for predicting sport participation in wave 3 (around 20 years of age) and wave 4 (around 30 years of age) were conducted separately by gender (male and female) and gene (DRD2 and COMT genes).

RESULTS

Adolescent sport experience significantly interacted with the number of DRD2 A1 alleles and COMT Met alleles in affecting wave 3 sport participation among male adults. The interaction between adolescent sport experience and DRD2 gene significantly affected wave 4 sport participation in opposite direction to that affected wave 3 sport participation among male participants. Among female participants, there were no significant interaction effects between dopamine-related genes and adolescent sport experience on sport participation in both wave 3 and 4.

CONCLUSIONS

Since adult sport participation is most likely to be influenced by the joint impact of environmental and genetic factors, it is important to consider gene-by-environment interactions when designing policies or programs to promote adult sport participation.

Evaluation of the Association of COMT Rs4680 Polymorphism with Swimmers' Competitive Performance

Swimmers' competitive performance is a result of complicated interactions between physiological, biochemical, physical and psychological factors, all of which are strongly affected by water. Recently, great attention has been paid to the role of genetic factors such as the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT) influencing motivation, emotions, stress tolerance, self-control, sleep regulation, pain processing and perception, addictive behaviour and neurodegeneration, which may underlie differences in achieving remarkable results in sports competition. Thus, this study was performed to investigate the association between the COMT Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism and athletic performance in Caucasian swimmers. A total of 225 swimmers (171 short distance (SDS) and 54 long distance swimmers (LDS)) of national or international competitive standard and 379 unrelated sedentary controls were genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). We found no significant differences in genotypic or allelic distributions between (1) male and female athletes; (2) SDS and LDS; (3) all athletes and sedentary controls (under codominant, dominant, recessive, and overdominant genetic models). No association was found between the COMT rs4680 polymorphism and elite swimming athlete status of the studied population. However, more replication studies are needed.

The Role of Dopamine Receptor D2 in Bridging the Intention-Behavior Gap in Sport Participation

Previous studies have identified that a behavior can occur through the strongest predictor intention, but there is a gap between intention and behavior. Dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) is known to account for a variance in sporting behaviors in human and animal subjects. However, the relationship between DRD2 and sport participation has been poorly studied, and the limited available reports are inconsistent. The present study was performed to examine the impact of DRD2 on sport participation among Korean university students based on the integrated behavioral model (IBM). Data were collected from enrolled university students in Seoul (N = 45). Participants answered survey questions first, and then they gave investigators their hair to provide DNA information (i.e., the A1 allele of DRD2). DRD2 had a significant effect on sport participation, but only in male students. Male students who carried the A1 allele of DRD2 significantly participated in 105.10 min more sporting activities than male students who did not. Moreover, the effect of intention on sport participation was significantly decreased when considering DRD2. Despite the small sample size, the results of this study could be a preliminary case for a larger study and indicate the direction of future research. Our results suggest that DRD2 may have played an important role as the “actual skill” shown in the IBM.