- Exploratory GWAS of 168 Turkish elite athletes identified 11 SNPs suggestively associated with exercise addiction; no variant reached genome-wide significance.
- Notable SNPs include rs7789550 previously linked to alcohol dependence; allele frequencies compared with 5,137 healthy individuals from public database.
- Results are preliminary and hypothesis-generating due to small sample, exploratory design, and lack of independent replication; larger studies required for validation.
Sci Rep. 2026 Aug 12;16(1):25125. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-61232-z.
ABSTRACT
Exercise addiction (EA) is a complex behavioral phenotype characterized by a loss of control over exercise despite adverse physical, psychological, and social consequences. Although its psychological and performance-related aspects have been widely studied, its underlying etiology remains largely unclear, leading to increased interest in potential genetic vulnerability. Therefore, an exploratory pilot study investigated genetic variants associated with EA among elite athletes using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). The study comprised 168 Turkish elite athletes. Allele frequencies of critical single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were further assessed among a comparison group of 5137 healthy individuals using data from a publicly available database. EA was assessed using the Exercise Addiction Inventory. Genome-wide genotyping was conducted using a DNA microarray, and associations were examined using linear mixed models adjusted for sport discipline, sex, age, and training experience. Although no variants reached genome-wide significance (p < 1.11 × 10– 7), 11 SNPs exceeded the suggestive significance threshold (p < 1.00 × 10– 5), including rs79233502, rs13318101, rs7699799, rs4690145, rs3799055, rs7789550, rs73682313, rs6577987, rs117523538, rs7312447, and rs113672848, which were identified as potentially associated with EA. Notably, previous studies have also reported an association between rs7789550 and alcohol dependence. The present exploratory pilot study provides preliminary evidence regarding genetic variants that may be associated with EA among elite athletes. However, given the limited sample size, exploratory design, and absence of an independent replication cohort, the findings should be interpreted with caution and considered hypothesis-generating. Further studies with larger independent cohorts are required to replicate and validate these findings.
PMID:42587011 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-61232-z
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