Environment more crucial than genes in risk of early death, study suggests

The study analysed whether 164 ‘exposomes’, from salt intake to living with a partner, were associated with the risk of premature death. Photograph: Ariel Skelley/Getty

The environment is about 10 times more important than genes in explaining why some people have a higher risk of an early death than others, research has suggested.

The study is based on an analysis of information from almost 500,000 participants in the UK BioBank database, including answers to questionnaires as well as data on deaths and diseases that occurred after people enrolled.