Healthy lifestyle and glucagon-like peptide-1 in young and healthy adults: A population-based study

A healthy lifestyle is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events and mortality, but underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationships between a healthy lifestyle and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), an incretin hormone with both glycemic and cardiovascular properties. Healthy participants aged 25-41 years without cardiovascular disease, diabetes or a body mass index (BMI) > 35 kg/m2 were enrolled in a population-based study. The following metrics were used to build a lifestyle score ranging from 0 to 7 (a higher score indicating a healthier lifestyle): blood pressure (BP) (< 120/80 mm Hg), plasma levels of glycated hemoglobin (< 5.7%), total cholesterol levels (< 200 mg/dl), BMI (< 25 kg/m2), not smoking cigarettes, moderate (≥ 150 min/week) or vigorous (≥ 75 min/week) physical activity and a healthy diet. Among 2133 participants median age was 36.7 years and 53.3% were female. GLP-1 levels decreased significantly from 39.5 to 30.9 ng/l (p < 0.0001) across increasing lifestyle score categories. This linear relationship persisted in multivariable adjusted linear regression models (B for GLP-1 per 1-unit increase of the lifestyle score − 0.06; 95% confidence intervals − 0.07, − 0.04; p < 0.0001). Individual health metrics that were significantly associated with GLP-1 were a normal BMI (− 0.07; − 0.12, − 0.03; p = 0.001), low total cholesterol levels (− 0.07; − 0.12, − 0.03; p = 0.001), normal BP (− 0.05; − 0.10, − 0.00; p = 0.047) and not smoking (− 0.06; − 0.10, − 0.01; p = 0.01). A healthy lifestyle is strongly associated with lower GLP-1 levels in young and healthy adults.