If you ogle your neighbor’s big arms in the weight room, know that muscle development is due to training, but also to a genetic component. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK have identified 16 genes that participate in muscle function and influence strength.
In their study published in Nature Communications, the scientists measured the grip strength of the hand in 140,000 Britons from the UK Biobank program, and analyzed their genes. The results of an additional 50,000 people from the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia completed and diversified the sample.
Build muscles to reduce fractures
The 16 genetic variations have mostly been located on or near genes already known to play a role in muscle function: structure and function of muscle fibers, and communication between muscle cells and the nervous system. Other mutations demonstrated in this study were also observed in severe muscle dysfunction syndromes: causing severe muscle damage in some cases, they could also influence strength in the general population.
For scientists, the identification of these genetic variants is an important step in the development of new treatments to prevent or treat muscle weakness. Indeed, strength is associated with several health components: the risk of early mortality, cardiovascular disease and fractures. The causal link could only be demonstrated for the incidence of fractures in this study: physical strength would therefore contribute to reducing the complications of falls and the disabilities due to these fractures. Further additional research may pursue this work in more detail.
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