IOM REPORT EXPLORES LINK BETWEEN GENOMICS
AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Ever since researchers around
the world announced the completed sequence of the human genome in 2001,
the public has focused on the genome’s
potential for treating disease on an individual, personalized basis.
Yet the genome and its interactions with behavior, diet and environmental
factors also “has the potential to powerfully affect the health
and well-being of populations,” according to an Institute of Medicine
report released on April 5.
Although genomics has already proved its worth in diagnosing and
treating rare diseases like cystic fibrosis with clear-cut genetic
causes, future researchers will use genomics to illuminate the complex
genetic interactions behind chronic and widespread conditions like
heart disease, diabetes and depression, according to the report.
Genomics could be used to determine which populations are most susceptible
to these conditions, and which populations might especially benefit
from certain treatments.
“This would truly be a revolution in public health, and we
may be on the cusp of that revolution,” Lawrence Goslin, J.D.,
L.L.D., the report committee’s chair, said.
Large population genomics
studies are essential to building an evidence base for this revolution,
the report notes. Goslin and colleagues
also suggest there is a “climate of fear about genetic information
among the public and health professionals” that must be addressed
before genomics can be used to improve health across all populations,
particularly among the poor and racial and ethnic minority groups.
To read the full report
by the Committee on Genomics and the Public’s
Health in the 21st Century, go here.
