00:04What shapes your health more, your genes or the life you live?
00:08A massive study suggests genes may have the stronger influence, but the answer changes depending on the condition.
00:16Researchers analyzed health records from nearly 45 million Americans, including more than 56,000 pairs of twins and 724,000
00:26siblings.
00:26They examined 560 common conditions across 23 medical categories, comparing inherited influences with shared environmental factors and neighborhood measures such
00:37as air quality, climate, and socioeconomic conditions.
00:42Overall, nearly 40% of the conditions showed a genetic link, while about a quarter were influenced at least partly
00:49by environmental factors.
00:51But there was no single answer for every illness.
00:54Genetic influences stood up more for many cognitive disorders, while shared environmental factors played a larger role in eye and
01:03respiratory conditions.
01:05Neighborhood factors generally had a weaker effect than genes and shared environment, though they mattered for some outcomes.
01:11Poverty was linked with a higher risk of severe obesity, and climate was relevant to illnesses such as flu and
01:18Lyme disease.
01:19The researchers also found that genetic and environmental information could help predict close to 60% of monthly health spending.
01:28But there's an important limit.
01:30The study only included people from birth through age 24, so it doesn't tell us how these patterns apply to
01:36diseases of older age.
01:38Genes may set part of the stage, but our surroundings still shape the story.
01:43Genes may set part of the stage, but our surroundings still shape the story.
01:43So when it comes to health, is the bigger question what we inherit, or the bigger question what we inherit,
01:48or the bigger question what we inherit, or the bigger question what we inherit.
