SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
This article is part of the Research TopicMulti-omics insights into exercise-induced molecular adaptationsView all articles
Association Between the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser (rs8192678) Polymorphism and Endurance and Power Athlete Status: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Physical Education and Sports, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
- 2Division of Sports Science and Physical Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- 3School of Physical Education, Yunnan Normal University, Yunnan, China
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Abstract Background: 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. Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the association between the PPARGC1A Gly482Ser (rs8192678) polymorphism and elite endurance and power athlete status. Methods: 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 I² statistic. Results: 21 studies involving 5795 athletes and 9048 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). Conclusion: 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.
Keywords: athletic performance4, enduranceathletes5, polymorphism3, power athletes6, PPARGC1A2, sport genetics1
Received: 27 Oct 2025; Accepted: 15 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Su, Yuan, He, Ding, Sun, Xiong and Song. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaobo Song
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