domingo, 18 de agosto de 2013

American Public Health Association - Rethinking Our Public Health Genetics Research Paradigm

Abdulrahman M. El-Sayed, Karestan C. Koenen, and Sandro Galea. (2013). Rethinking Our Public Health Genetics Research Paradigm. American Journal of Public Health. e-View Ahead of Print.

doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301127

Accepted on: Oct 22, 2012

Rethinking Our Public Health Genetics Research Paradigm

Abdulrahman M. El-Sayed, DPhil, Karestan C. Koenen, PhD, and Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH

Abdulrahman M. El-Sayed, Karestan C. Koenen, and Sandro Galea are with the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Abdulrahman El-Sayed is also with the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University.

Correspondence should be sent to Sandro Galea, Gelman Professor and Chair, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, 722 West 168th Street, 1508, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail: sgalea@columbia.edu). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the “Reprints” link.

Contributors

A. M. El-Sayed drafted the article. S. Galea and K. C. Koenen conceptualized this article. S. Galea and K. C. Koenen critically edited the article for intellectual content. All authors take full responsibility for the article’s integrity and accuracy.

ABSTRACT

Since the sequencing of the human genome, tremendous resources have been dedicated to understanding how genetic determinants may drive the production of disease. Despite some successes, the promise of genetics research in these areas remains largely unrealized.

The focus on isolating individual (or clusters of) genes that may be associated with narrowly defined phenotypes in large part explains this discrepancy. In particular, efforts to identify genotypes associated with narrow phenotypes force the field to use study designs that capitalize on homogeneous samples to minimize the potential for competing influences or confounders, which imposes important limitations on understanding the role of genes in human health.

We argue that a population health genetics that incorporates genetics into large, multiwave, multilevel cohorts has the best potential to clarify how genes, in combination and with the environment, jointly influence population health. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print August 8, 2013: e1–e5. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.301127)