Polygenic Risk, Fitness, and Obesity in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Obesity is a major determinant of disease burden worldwide. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) have been posited as key predictors of obesity. How a PRS can be translated to the clinical encounter (especially in the context of fitness, activity, and parental history of overweight) remains unclear.OBJECTIVE To quantify the relative importance of a PRS, fitness, activity, parental history of overweight, and body mass index (BMI) (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) in young adulthood on BMI trends over 25 years. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis population-based prospective cohort study at 4 US centers included white individuals and black individuals with assessments of polygenic risk of obesity, fitness, activity, and BMI in young adulthood (in their 20s) and up to 25 years of follow-up.

Reflections from the Book of the Dead: Weighing the impact of epicardial fat on atrial fibrillation vulnerability

“…Or in other words, how much of obesity is related to lifestyle choices versus genetic and as a consequence how much of EAT is modifiable? In a study of 1608 white people studied over 25 years, polygenetic risk scores predicted the BMI at 25 years in 13.6% of the population 11 . Within this study, fitness improved model prediction and predicted BMI at 25 years in 18.1% of the population.…”

Assessing the Added Value of Vital Signs Extracted from Electronic Health Records in Healthcare Risk Adjustment Models

“…11 Some researchers have also pointed out the limitations to understanding health risks by BMI, since it ignores information more specifically related to health outcomes: level of physical activity, amount of body fat and waist circumference. 40,41 Our study has several limitations. First, our population is derived from only one large academic health system and our results may not be generalizable to other settings.…”

Precision medicine in follicular lymphoma: Focus on predictive biomarkers

“…While the few molecular biomarkers with robust survival correlates in FL (eg, EZH2 mutational status or the 23-gene expression signature) do seem to add value in early studies, 25,45,51,55 similar positive early results in other medical fields, such as polygenic risk scores in cardiovascular medicine, have turned out to add little to the standard cheap and commonly used clinical and analytical biomarkers. 92,94,95 status would be helpful in choosing between bendamustine and CHOP. 25,45 This question is a clinically relevant one and, if confirmed, we hope to see major efforts to translate these findings into widespread clinical practice, despite the fact that expression analyses are difficult to implement.…”