How do environmental and lifestyle factors influence gene expression and health outcomes?

Introduction

Environmental and lifestyle factors significantly influence gene expression and health outcomes through various epigenetic mechanisms. These factors include diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and exposure to pollutants, which can lead to changes in DNA methylation, histone modifications, and miRNA expression. Understanding these interactions is crucial for predicting disease risk and developing preventive strategies.

Key Insights

Epigenetic Mechanisms and Lifestyle Factors:
- Lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption can modify epigenetic patterns, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and miRNA expression .
- Environmental pollutants, psychological stress, and working on night shifts also influence epigenetic mechanisms .
Gene-Environment Interactions:
- Environmental factors like chemical pollutants, dietary components, and temperature changes can modulate epigenetic modifications, affecting gene expression and phenotype .
- Gene-environment interactions are crucial in understanding the etiology of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, obesity, and psychiatric disorders .
Impact on Disease Risk and Health Outcomes:
- Epigenetic changes induced by environmental exposures are associated with various diseases, including cancer, respiratory diseases, allergies, and neurodegenerative disorders .
- Specific lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity, can influence the expression of genes involved in inflammation, cell cycle regulation, and carcinogenesis .
Transgenerational Effects:
- Environmental factors can have long-lasting effects on gene expression, sometimes even affecting subsequent generations through epigenetic modifications .
Thrifty Genes and Lifestyle Changes:
- The expression of "thrifty genes," which were advantageous during times of famine, is influenced by modern lifestyle changes, contributing to non-communicable diseases like obesity and diabetes.

Conclusion

Environmental and lifestyle factors play a pivotal role in influencing gene expression and health outcomes through various epigenetic mechanisms. These interactions can lead to significant changes in disease risk and health, highlighting the importance of considering both genetic and environmental factors in disease prevention and health promotion. Understanding these complex interactions can guide future research and inform public health strategies.

How do environmental and lifestyle factors influence gene expression and health outcomes?

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Epigenetics and lifestyle.

Lifestyle factors, such as diet, obesity, physical activity, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, environmental pollutants, psychological stress, and working on night shifts, may influence human health through epigenetic mechanisms.

Epigenetics and the environment: emerging patterns and implications

Environmental factors, such as chemical pollutants, diet, and temperature changes, can have long-lasting effects on development, metabolism, and health, sometimes even in subsequent generations.

The influence of lifestyle factors on miRNA expression and signal pathways: a review.

Lifestyle factors like diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption influence miRNA expression, potentially impacting inflammation, cell cycle regulation, and carcinogenesis.

Environmental Exposures and Gene Regulation in Disease Etiology

Environmental exposures significantly impact gene expression, leading to serious diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity, and neurodegenerative disorders, and reducing environmental pollution could significantly improve human health and reduce medical costs.

Environmental epigenetics and its implication on disease risk and health outcomes.

Environmental factors, such as tobacco smoke, tobacco use, and other pollutants, can alter an individual's epigenetic landscape, affecting disease risk and health outcomes.

Gene-environment interactions and correlations in psychiatric disorders

Gene-environment interactions and correlations significantly influence psychiatric disorders, highlighting the need for future psychiatric research, mental health practice, and policy-making.

Environment and expression of the thrifty genes.

Environmental factors influence diet and physical activities, leading to altered physical attributes and non-communicable diseases, and preventing these gene expressions is crucial for optimal health.

Genes, environment and gene expression in colon tissue: a pathway approach to determining functionality.

Lifestyle factors and genetic factors interact to alter gene expression in colon tissue, highlighting the need to consider both factors in assessing cancer risk.

Dietary and Lifestyle Factors in Epigenetic Regulation of Cancer

Dietary and lifestyle factors significantly impact gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms, potentially affecting cancer susceptibility and providing guidance for prevention.

Interaction between genes and lifestyle factors on obesity

Obesity risk is influenced by both genetic variants and environmental factors, with a complex interaction between these factors affecting body-weight control.

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