Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May 24;17(1):68.
doi: 10.1186/s12966-020-00971-2.

Impact of dopamine-related genetic variants on physical activity in old age - a cohort study

Ing-Mari Dohrn  1 , Goran Papenberg  2 , Elisabeth Winkler  3   4 , Anna-Karin Welmer  2   5   6   7
Affiliations

Impact of dopamine-related genetic variants on physical activity in old age - a cohort study

Ing-Mari Dohrn et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. .

Abstract

Objectives: The beneficial effects of a physically active lifestyle in aging are well documented. Understanding the factors of importance for physical activity in older adults are therefore essential. Informed by animal and human data linking the dopamine system to motivation and reward processes, we investigated the associations between variations in dopamine genes and objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Further, we aimed to verify whether higher age may exacerbate the impact of dopamine genes on physical activity.

Methods: We analyzed data from 504 older adults, 66-87 years, from the population-based Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K). Physical activity was measured with activPAL accelerometers and DNA was extracted from blood samples for genotyping. We assessed the effects of three dopamine relevant genetic variations (DRD1, DRD2, and DRD3) on daily time in sedentary behavior, light-intensity physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity using analyses of covariance, adjusting for sex, age and physical function.

Results: Higher dopamine receptor efficacy was related to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, but not to light-intensity physical activity or sedentary time. DRD1 explained 2.7% of variance in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, with more pronounced effect in people aged ≥80 years, about 10% of explained variance.

Conclusion: Stronger genetic effects in older adults are in line with the well-established nonlinear effects of dopamine signaling on performance, expected to be exacerbated with aging. Individuals over 80 years, genetically predisposed to lower dopamine receptor efficacy, engaged on average 100 min/week in moderate-to-high physical activity, below the recommended levels beneficial for healthy aging. Our findings highlight that some individuals might need extra support to maintain a physically active lifestyle.

Keywords: Accelerometery; Aging; Dopamine; Genes; Physical activity; Sedentary behaviour.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The inverted u-shaped function relating dopaminergic tone to functioning. The circles represent two individuals with different genotypes of the same gene as they experience age-related declines in the dopamine system, moving them left of the apex of the function
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ekelund U, Tarp J, Steene-Johannessen J, Hansen BH, Jefferis B, Fagerland MW, et al. Dose-response associations between accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time and all cause mortality: systematic review and harmonised meta-analysis. BMJ. 2019;366:l4570. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Powell Kenneth E., King Abby C., Buchner David M., Campbell Wayne W., DiPietro Loretta, Erickson Kirk I., Hillman Charles H., Jakicic John M., Janz Kathleen F., Katzmarzyk Peter T., Kraus William E., Macko Richard F., Marquez David X., McTiernan Anne, Pate Russell R., Pescatello Linda S., Whitt-Glover Melicia C. The Scientific Foundation for the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2019;16(1):1–11. - PubMed
    1. WHO. Global recommendations on physical activity for health. Physical Activity and Older Adults. https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/global-PA-recs-2010.pdf. Accessed 17 Oct 2019.
    1. PAGAC . 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2018. 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee.
    1. Dohrn IM, Sjostrom M, Kwak L, Oja P, Hagstromer M. Accelerometer-measured sedentary time and physical activity-a 15 year follow-up of mortality in a Swedish population-based cohort. J Sci Med Sport. 2018;21(7):702–707. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances