Investigation of the relationship of wellness, happiness and comt RS4680 polymorphism in regular exercise and non-exercise

The relationship between wellness, happiness and COMT rs4680 polymorphism was aimed in our study in individuals who exercise and do not. 116 people over the age of 18 who regularly attended the exercise programs at the Wellness and Sports Center and did not attend regularly. The Perceived Wellness Model (Adams et al., 1997) was used to determine the wellness of the participants and the Oxford Happiness Scale (Hill & Argyle, 2002) was used to determine their happiness levels. For the genotyping of COMT rs4680 polymorphism, DNA isolation from intraoral epithelial cells (Invitrogen, USA) was performed and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methodology was used. Analyzes of the obtained data were carried out using the SPSS program. In our study, it was determined that individuals with GG genotype for COMT rs4680 polymorphism were statistically significant compared to other genotypes in terms of regular exercise (p <.001). In addition, it was determined that individuals with GG genotype had higher average scores of Perceived Wellness Scale and Oxford Happiness Scale in individuals who exercise regularly. In our study, it was observed that individuals with the GG genotype adapted better to regular exercise programs and their participation in exercise programs was higher than other genotypes. COMT rs4680 polymorphism, which is one of the important biomarkers of the dopaminergic system, is thought to be associated with wellness, happiness and regular exercise participation. Our findings should be supported by studies with higher participation.