In most cases, our genes (DNA) have less than five percent to do with the risk of developing a particular disease, new research from University of Alberta scientists shows.
In the largest meta-analysis ever conducted, scientists analyzed two decades of data from studies examining the relationships between common gene mutations, also known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), and various diseases and conditions. And the results show that the connection between most human diseases and genetics is weak.
Simply put, DNA is not your destiny and SNPs are not markers for predicting disease,” said David Wishart, a professor in the University of Alberta’s Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Computing Science and co-author of the study. “The vast majority of diseases, including many cancers, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, have a genetic contribution of at most 5 to 10 percent.”
The study also notes some notable exceptions, including Crohn's disease, celiac disease and macular degeneration, which have a genetic contribution of about 40 to 50 percent.
“Despite these rare exceptions, it is becoming increasingly clear that the risks for most diseases come from your metabolism, your environment, your lifestyle, or your exposure to different types of nutrients, chemicals, bacteria or viruses,” Wishart explained.
Wishart and his research collaborators suggest that measuring metabolites, chemicals, proteins or the microbiome provides a much more accurate measure of human disease risk and is also more accurate for diagnosis. The results argue against many modern genetic testing business models, which suggest that genetic testing can accurately predict a person's risk of disease.
“The bottom line is that if you want to have an accurate picture of your health, your susceptibility to disease or your options for action, it is best to have the metabolite, microbe or protein levels in your body measured and not test your genes,” added Wishart. “This research also highlights the need to understand our environment and the safety or quality of our food, air and water.”
Quelle: Jonas Patron, Arnau Serra-Cayuela, Beomsoo Han, Carin Li und David Scott Wishart. Assessing the performance of genome-wide association studies for predicting disease risk.PLOS ONE
