Exercise mitigates diabetes risk among individuals with high genetic risk

The study “Accelerometer-measured intensity-specific physical activity, genetic risk and incident type 2 diabetes: a prospective cohort study” was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Thirty minutes of daily physical activity and moderate intensity can prevent type 2 diabetes (T2D). The current recommendations rely on self-reports, and genetic risk is rarely considered.

In this study, researchers examined the prospective dose-response relationships between total/intensity-specific physical activity and incident T2D accounting for and stratified by different levels of genetic risk.

The study results include the following:

• There were 59 325 participants in the UK Biobank with a mean age of 61.1 years in 2013–2015.
• These wore accelerometers to track physical activity over seven years.
• A linear dose-response association between moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and incident T2D was reported even after adjusting for genetic risk.
• The HRs for higher levels of MVPA were 0.63 for 5.3–25.9 min/day, 0.41 for 26.0–68.4 min/day and 0.26 for >68.4 min/day.
• Researchers found a significant additive interaction between MVPA and genetic risk score. This finding suggests more considerable absolute risk differences by MVPA levels among those with higher genetic risk.

Active living could significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even for individuals with higher genetic susceptibility. Interestingly, highly active participants with a high genetic risk had a lower risk of developing the disease than low-risk but inactive individuals. The findings underscore the importance of physical activity in preventing type 2 diabetes.

We found that those involved in more than an hour of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily have a 74% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

They said that participation in physical activity, particularly MVPA, should be promoted, especially in those with a high genetic risk of T2D.

There may be no minimal or maximal threshold for the benefits.

This finding can inform future guidelines development and interventions to prevent T2D.

Further reading:

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2023/06/05/bjsports-2022-106653