Population-level seasonality in cardiovascular mortality, blood pressure, BMI and inflammatory cells in UK biobank

AbstractIntroduction The risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) is higher in wintertime throughout the world, but it is not known if this reflects annual changes in diet or lifestyle, or an endogenous photoperiodic mechanism that is sensitive to changes in daylength.Methods Phenotypic data on cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors were collected throughout a 4 year time period from 502,642 middle-aged participants in UK Biobank. To assess the impact of seasonal environmental changes on cardiovascular risk factors, we linked these data to the outdoor temperature and day length at the time of assessment. Self-reported information on physical activity, diet and disease status were used to adjust for confounding factors related to health and lifestyle.Results Mortality related to CVD was higher in winter, as were risk factors for this condition including blood pressure, markers of inflammation and BMI. These seasonal rhythms were significantly related to day length after adjustment for other facto...