Stair climbing, genetic predisposition, and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes: A large population-based prospective cohort study

Yuanjue Wu; Mengyun Luo; Xiao Tan; Liangkai Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2022.10.002

Stair climbing, genetic predisposition, and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes: A large population-based prospective cohort study

J Sport Health Sci. 2023 Mar;12(2):158-166. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2022.10.002. Epub 2022 Oct 13.

Authors

Yuanjue Wu¹, Mengyun Luo², Xiao Tan³, Liangkai Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China; Department of Clinical Nutrition, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
² Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales, NSW 2006, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, the University of Sydney, New South Wales, NSW 2006, Australia; School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, China.
³ Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala 78185, Sweden; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm 17165, Sweden.
⁴ Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China; Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China. Electronic address: clk@hust.edu.cn.

Abstract

Background: Cross-sectional evidence and small-scale trials suggest positive effects of stair climbing on cardiometabolic disease and glucose regulation. However, few studies have examined the long-term association between stair climbing and the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We aimed to prospectively evaluate the association of stair climbing with T2D and assess modifications by genetic predisposition to T2D.

Methods: We included 451,699 adults (mean age = 56.3 ± 8.1 years, mean ± SD; 55.2% females) without T2D at baseline in the UK Biobank and followed up to March 31, 2021. Stair climbing information was collected through the touchscreen questionnaire. Genetic risk score for T2D consisted of 424 single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Results: During a median follow up of 12.1 years, 14,896 T2D cases were documented. Compared with participants who reported no stair climbing, those who climbed stairs regularly had a lower risk of incident T2D (10-50 steps/day: hazard ratio (HR) = 0.95, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.89-1.00; 60-100 steps/day: HR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.87-0.98; 110-150 steps/day: HR = 0.86, 95%CI: 0.80-0.91; >150 steps/day: HR = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.87-0.99, p for trend = 0.0007). We observed a significant interaction between stair climbing and genetic risk score on the subsequent T2D risk (p for interaction = 0.0004), where the risk of T2D showed a downward trend in subjects with low genetic risk and those who reported stair climbing activity of 110-150 steps/day appeared to have the lowest overall T2D risk among those with intermediate to high genetic risk.

Conclusion: A higher number of stairs climbed at home was associated with lower T2D incidence risk, especially among individuals with a low genetic predisposition to T2D. These findings highlight that stair climbing, as incidental physical activity, offers a simple and low-cost complement to public health interventions for T2D prevention.

Keywords: Cohort; Genetic risk score; Stair climbing; Type 2 diabetes; UK Biobank.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / epidemiology
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / genetics
Female
Genetic Predisposition to Disease
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors