The Danger of Genetic Risk Scores for Worsening Race-Based Disparities in Healthcare
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65539/87xk2m02Keywords:
polygenic risk scores, precision medicine, health disparities, genetic diversity, health equity, genomicsAbstract
This review examines how polygenic risk scores, developed primarily using data from white European populations, may worsen existing healthcare disparities. The author explains why these scores perform poorly in non-white populations, discusses the danger of clinical deployment without diverse representation in genetic databases, and proposes solutions including increasing diversity in genetic research and developing new analytical tools to improve prediction accuracy across different ancestry groups.
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