Lifestyle and Genetic Factors Associated With Cardiovascular Disease: A Genome-wide Association Study

Objective: To identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and examine the association of genetic and lifestyle factors using data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted using Phase 1 data from the Health Examinee (HEXA) cohort, including 26,546 participants (1,919 with CVD and 24,627 controls). Sex-stratified analyses were performed on 17,390 females and 9,156 males. SNPs associated with CVD were identified using PLINK 1.9, and logistic regression models were used to assess associations between CVD and genetic, demographic, and lifestyle factors in IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0. Results: Three SNPs (rs8086325, rs34233878, rs218463) were significantly associated with CVD in the overall sample. In males, rs79682491, rs2540719, and rs2576541 showed significant associations, while in females, rs76830381, rs6496602, rs8086325, and rs34233878 were identified. In multivariate analyses, age ≥60 (OR = 15.56), BMI ≥30 (OR = 4.74), male sex, smoking, low protein intake, low income, and selected SNPs were significantly associated with CVD risk. Conclusion: This study underscores the multifactorial nature of CVD risk, highlighting the joint association of genetic, behavioral, and demographic factors. The observed sex-specific genetic associations reinforce the need for personalized prevention strategies. Nurses are well-positioned to lead efforts in implementing sex-sensitive, genomics-informed approaches to reduce CVD risk and promote cardiovascular health.