Geneticists Revealed an Unexpected Secret of Longevity

Sensational study by British scientists: lifestyle is more important than genetics in longevity. Specialists from the Oxford Population Health Center conducted an unprecedented large-scale study that completely changed the scientific understanding of the causes of premature mortality.

The grand scientific project covered more than half a million UK residents whose data is stored in the national Biobank. Researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of more than 160 environmental factors and over 20 genetic markers associated with major diseases affecting aging processes and human life expectancy.

The stunning results of the work, published in the prestigious Nature Medicine journal, showed that heredity determines only 2% of the risk of premature death. The main risk factors are lifestyle aspects such as tobacco smoking, economic well-being, physical activity, and living conditions.

During the study, scientists identified impressive patterns: smoking contributes to the development of 21 diseases, socio-economic factors provoke 19 diseases, and lack of physical activity is associated with 17 pathologies. A particularly important discovery was the established relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy, newborn weight, and the probability of early death.

The study revealed that environmental factors have the most significant impact on the development of respiratory, cardiovascular, and liver diseases. Meanwhile, genetic predisposition plays a more significant role in the development of dementia and breast cancer.