Effects of physical activity on the incidence of stroke with polygenic risk score

Background Stroke is a disease influenced by various risk factors, including genetic factors determined by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Polygenic risk score (PRS) calculated from multiple SNPs can reflect the varying genetic risk of stroke. Physical activity is a critical factor that influences the incidence of stroke by improving other risk factors. Therefore, we investigated the effects of physical activity on the reduction of stroke incidence across different PRS levels. Methods This study utilized epidemiological and genetic data from Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Through genome wide-associated study (GWAS) analysis, SNPs with high frequency in stroke patients were classified. The presence and amount of physical activity was assessed based on the weekly average exercise reported in the epidemiological survey data. All participants were classified into three groups based on PRS levels. Results Through GWAS (p < 1×10 ^-5 ), 28 SNPs were identified in the stroke patients for calculating PRS. The physical activity significantly reduced stroke incidence with high (p < 0.0001) and middle PRS levels (p < 0.0001). Notably, the amount of physical activity showed a difference in stroke incidence with high (p < 0.0001) and middle PRS levels (p = 0.0002). Conclusions This study investigates differences in stroke incidence due to physical activity across PRS levels calculated from stroke-related SNPs in GWAS. The reduction in stroke incidence influenced with the physical activity varied depending on PRS levels. Our findings suggest that the stroke prevention effect of physical activity may differ across PRS levels.