Polygenic risk, population structure and ongoing difficulties with race in human genetics – DocWire News

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Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2022 Jun 6;377(1852):20200427. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0427. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

ABSTRACT

The Apportionment of Human Diversity stands as a noteworthy intervention, both for the field of human population genetics as well as in the annals of public communication of science. Despite the widespread uptake of Lewontins conclusion that racial classification is of virtually no genetic or taxonomic significance, the biomedical research community continues to grapple with whether and how best to account for race in its work. Nowhere is this struggle more apparent than in the latest attempts to translate genetic associations with complex disease risk to clinical use in the form of polygenic risk scores, or PRS. In this perspective piece, we trace current challenges surrounding the appropriate development and clinical application of PRS in diverse patient cohorts to ongoing difficulties deciding which facets of population structure matter, and for what reasons, to human health. Despite numerous analytical innovations, there are reasons that emerge from Lewontins work to remain sceptical that accounting for population structure in the context of polygenic risk estimation will allow us to more effectively identify and intervene on the significant health disparities which plague marginalized populations around the world. This article is part of the theme issue Celebrating 50 years since Lewontins apportionment of human diversity.

PMID:35430888 | DOI:10.1098/rstb.2020.0427

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