Smoking Outweighed Genes for a Long Life
Graded Moderate — a large observational study followed 5,575 adults for an average of 17.5 years; it can show links but not causes, and all participants came from Finland.
- Design
- Prospective cohort study
- Participants
- 5,575
- Duration
- 17.5 years
- Funding
- Research Council of Finland; EU FP7-HEALTH programme
In this Finnish long-term study, heavy smoking signalled early death more strongly than an inherited tendency toward a long life.
Some people carry an inherited tendency toward a longer life. In a long-running Finnish study, that advantage showed up, but it was small. People who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day had more than three times the risk of dying during the follow-up compared with others. The genetic edge was far more modest.
Researchers followed 5,575 adults from a Finnish twin register, on average 57 years old, for about 17.5 years. During that time 1,405 of them died, roughly one in four. For each person, the team calculated a lifespan score from many small gene variants. A higher score went with about a 14 percent lower risk of dying. The link barely changed after accounting for exercise, body weight, alcohol, smoking and education.
Smoking improved the prediction of who died more than anything else measured. The genetic score added very little. Women also had a markedly lower risk of dying than men. This study observes patterns rather than testing an intervention. Still, in this group the inherited lifespan profile was a weaker signal of early death than cigarettes were.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors declare no competing interests.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.