PRTS Allows Better Prediction of COPD Risk for Those of Non-European Descent.

 

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a potentially deadly disease which causes inflammation of bronchi within the lungs, leading to chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Large scale genetic studies for COPD have largely been based off genetic information obtained from those of European ancestry. A new tool called PTRS - a gene-based compliment to PRS - has enabled doctors to better predict and assess COPD risk factors for patients of African and Hispanic descent, furthermore, building upon already established genomic data. While PRS looks at direct genotype data, PTRS expands upon that, using linear combinations of genotypes to represent predicted expression levels also known as the transcriptome. This new test introduces a more diverse set of gene variation between races. This in turn allows for more accurate risk analysis for those of non-European (especially African and Hispanic) descent and was found to also predict COPD more effectively in heavy, longtime smokers.

 

Your Genetic Risk of Mental Health Disorders Can Determine Where You Live

There are different factors that determine a place where someone lives. Some of those factors include price, location, weather conditions, and even the genetic risk of mental health disorders. A study conducted by a research team from King’s College London were able to identify that there are genes that cause people to choose their living choice based off them. They suggested that there is a correlation between a person’s genes and their environment. The experiment was based on a polygenic risk score (PRS) conducted on about 300,000 UK citizens ages ranging from 37 to 73. The PRS allowed the team to examine the gene liability of every individual involved. From all those studied, there was a higher risk of bipolar disorder, anorexia, and autism and a lower risk for ADHD in people who moved from rural to urban locations. Those risk in being diagnosed with schizophrenia and ADHD are likely to live in cities. They were able to concluded that depending on one’s likelihood to develop a mental disorder can determine the place they live. 

https://medicalxpress.com/pdf554541231.pdf

https://www.genome.gov/Health/Genomics-and-Medicine/Polygenic-risk-scores

 

Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle Could Possible Reduce Genetic Risk of Cancer

    

    Dr. Guangfu Jin at Nanjing Medical University performed genetic research that determined that healthy lifestyle factors, including low body mass index, abstinence from smoking and drinking, and regular exercise correlated with a decrease in cancer, even in those with high genetic risk. Researchers are able to determine personalized estimates of an individual’s risk of developing cancer, which are known as polygenic risk scores (PRS), based on each unique combination of changes that influence cancer risk in areas of DNA. Jin and his colleagues calculated individual PRS for 16 cancers in men and 18 in women, and using statistical methods combined these scores into a single measure of cancer risk. 

    The results of this study show that patients with an unhealthy lifestyle and the highest quintile of genetic risk were 2.99 times more likely in men and 2.38 times more likely in women to develop cancer as opposed to those with a healthy lifestyle and the lowest quintile of genetic risk. Individuals at a high genetic risk of overall cancer can be identified by PRS, and this risk can be attenuated by adopting a favorable lifestyle. Jin stated that “these findings indicate that everyone should have a healthy lifestyle to decrease overall cancer risk”, which is particularly important to those with high genetic risk of cancer. Jin hopes that the CPRS were useful in improving one’s self-awareness of their inherited susceptibility to cancer and motivating them to maintain a favorable and healthy lifestyle.

Link to Study: https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2021/07/29/0008-5472.CAN-21-0836

Link to Article: https://scitechdaily.com/healthy-lifestyle-may-help-mitigate-high-genetic-risk-of-cancer/