# Association between the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser (rs8192678) polymorphism and endurance and power athlete status: a systematic review and meta-analysis

## TL;DR

This study finds that a specific genetic variant is linked to elite athlete status in Caucasians but not in Asians.

## Contribution

The study provides a meta-analysis of the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser polymorphism's association with athletic status using a more accurate genotype analysis.

## Key findings

- The Gly/Gly genotype is more common in Caucasian endurance and power athletes compared to controls.
- In Asians, the Gly/Gly genotype is less common in power athletes but not in endurance athletes.
- The study suggests the Gly/Gly genotype could be a genetic marker for athletic talent in Caucasians.

## Abstract

Evidence on the association between the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser (rs8192678) polymorphism and elite athlete status is inconsistent, and a prior meta-analysis has used a genotype-merging approach that may bias results.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the association between the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser (rs8192678) polymorphism and elite endurance and power athlete status.

A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library from inception to November 2025. Studies were included if they provided genotype frequency data for the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser polymorphism in elite endurance or power athletes and non-athlete controls. Fixed or random-effects models were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), and heterogeneity was assessed using the I

2
statistic.

21 studies involving 5,795 athletes and 9,048 non-athlete controls were included. Compared with non-athlete controls, a higher frequency of the Gly/Gly genotype was observed in Caucasian endurance athletes (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.08–1.31; p < 0.001) and Caucasian power athletes (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.17–1.44; p < 0.001). In Asians, no significant difference in the frequency of the Gly/Gly genotype was observed between endurance athletes and controls (OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.71–1.19; p = 0.523), whereas a lower frequency was observed in Asian power athletes (OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.53–0.90; p = 0.007).

Our findings demonstrate that the Gly/Gly genotype of the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser polymorphism was associated with an increased likelihood of achieving elite athlete status in Caucasians, suggesting its potential as a genetic marker for athletic talent identification in this population. In Asians, no significant association was observed between the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser polymorphism and elite endurance athlete status, whereas the Gly/Gly genotype is associated with a lower likelihood of achieving elite power athlete status.

identifier CRD420251148245.