Genome-wide association study of self-reported walking pace suggests beneficial effects of brisk walking on health and survival
(2020) In Communications Biology 3(1).- Abstract
Walking is a simple form of exercise, widely promoted for its health benefits. Self-reported walking pace has been associated with a range of cardiorespiratory and cancer outcomes, and is a strong predictor of mortality. Here we perform a genome-wide association study of self-reported walking pace in 450,967 European ancestry UK Biobank participants. We identify 70 independent associated loci (P < 5 × 10−8), 11 of which are novel. We estimate the SNP-based heritability as 13.2% (s.e. = 0.21%), reducing to 8.9% (s.e. = 0.17%) with adjustment for body mass index. Significant genetic correlations are observed with cardiometabolic, respiratory and psychiatric traits, educational attainment and all-cause mortality. Mendelian... (More)
Walking is a simple form of exercise, widely promoted for its health benefits. Self-reported walking pace has been associated with a range of cardiorespiratory and cancer outcomes, and is a strong predictor of mortality. Here we perform a genome-wide association study of self-reported walking pace in 450,967 European ancestry UK Biobank participants. We identify 70 independent associated loci (P < 5 × 10−8), 11 of which are novel. We estimate the SNP-based heritability as 13.2% (s.e. = 0.21%), reducing to 8.9% (s.e. = 0.17%) with adjustment for body mass index. Significant genetic correlations are observed with cardiometabolic, respiratory and psychiatric traits, educational attainment and all-cause mortality. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest a potential causal link of increasing walking pace with a lower cardiometabolic risk profile. Given its low heritability and simple measurement, these findings suggest that self-reported walking pace is a pragmatic target for interventions aiming for general benefits on health.
(Less)
- author
- Timmins, Iain R. ; Zaccardi, Francesco ; Nelson, Christopher P. ; Franks, Paul LU ; Yates, Thomas and Dudbridge, Frank
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Communications Biology
- volume
- 3
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 634
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:33128006
- scopus:85094862025
- ISSN
- 2399-3642
- DOI
- 10.1038/s42003-020-01357-7
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- bc53bcb9-051e-4356-a598-6ce597bfb76b
- date added to LUP
- 2020-11-13 09:28:35
- date last changed
- 2024-04-17 18:47:31
@article{bc53bcb9-051e-4356-a598-6ce597bfb76b, abstract = {{<p>Walking is a simple form of exercise, widely promoted for its health benefits. Self-reported walking pace has been associated with a range of cardiorespiratory and cancer outcomes, and is a strong predictor of mortality. Here we perform a genome-wide association study of self-reported walking pace in 450,967 European ancestry UK Biobank participants. We identify 70 independent associated loci (P < 5 × 10<sup>−8</sup>), 11 of which are novel. We estimate the SNP-based heritability as 13.2% (s.e. = 0.21%), reducing to 8.9% (s.e. = 0.17%) with adjustment for body mass index. Significant genetic correlations are observed with cardiometabolic, respiratory and psychiatric traits, educational attainment and all-cause mortality. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest a potential causal link of increasing walking pace with a lower cardiometabolic risk profile. Given its low heritability and simple measurement, these findings suggest that self-reported walking pace is a pragmatic target for interventions aiming for general benefits on health.</p>}}, author = {{Timmins, Iain R. and Zaccardi, Francesco and Nelson, Christopher P. and Franks, Paul and Yates, Thomas and Dudbridge, Frank}}, issn = {{2399-3642}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{1}}, publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}}, series = {{Communications Biology}}, title = {{Genome-wide association study of self-reported walking pace suggests beneficial effects of brisk walking on health and survival}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01357-7}}, doi = {{10.1038/s42003-020-01357-7}}, volume = {{3}}, year = {{2020}}, }