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Borisevich D, Schnurr TM, Engelbrechtsen L, Rakitko A, Ängquist L, Ilinsky V, Aadahl M, Grarup N, Pedersen O, Sørensen TIA, Hansen T. Non-linear interaction between physical activity and polygenic risk score of body mass index in Danish and Russian populations. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258748. [PMID: 34662357 PMCID: PMC8523041 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Body mass index (BMI) is a highly heritable polygenic trait. It is also affected by various environmental and behavioral risk factors. We used a BMI polygenic risk score (PRS) to study the interplay between the genetic and environmental factors defining BMI. First, we generated a BMI PRS that explained more variance than a BMI genetic risk score (GRS), which was using only genome-wide significant BMI-associated variants (R2 = 13.1% compared to 6.1%). Second, we analyzed interactions between BMI PRS and seven environmental factors. We found a significant interaction between physical activity and BMI PRS, even when the well-known effect of the FTO region was excluded from the PRS, using a small dataset of 6,179 samples. Third, we stratified the study population into two risk groups using BMI PRS. The top 22% of the studied populations were included in a high PRS risk group. Engagement in self-reported physical activity was associated with a 1.66 kg/m2 decrease in BMI in this group, compared to a 0.84 kg/m2 decrease in BMI in the rest of the population. Our results (i) confirm that genetic background strongly affects adult BMI in the general population, (ii) show a non-linear interaction between BMI genetics and physical activity, and (iii) provide a standardized framework for future gene-environment interaction analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitrii Borisevich
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- * E-mail:
| | - Theresia M. Schnurr
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Line Engelbrechtsen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | | | - Lars Ängquist
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Mette Aadahl
- Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Frederiksberg, Denmark
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Niels Grarup
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Oluf Pedersen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thorkild I. A. Sørensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Torben Hansen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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