Polygenic Risk Scores Can Give Clues to a Person's Risk for Obesity
In This Article
- Polygenic risk scores are used to gauge an individual's chances of disease
- In a study of 300,000 people led by Sekar Katherisan, MD, the score revealed that 10% of adults that carried the highest genetic risk for obesity were 29 pounds heavier on average
- Dr. Katherisan believes the score can be used between birth and age 8 to best identify children with high-risk for obesity
- There are still limitations to polygenic risk scores due to the fact that genetics are not destiny and confounding environmental influences
Polygenic risk scores are used to evaluate how different genes affect an individual's chances of disease, whether that be diabetes or adverse cardiovascular events. Now, the score may be able to predict a person's risk of becoming obese.
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In a study published in Cell, Sekar Katherisan, MD, director of the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a team of researchers tested genetic data from 300,000 people. The study revealed that 10% of adults that carried the highest genetic risk for obesity were 29 pounds heavier on average. They were 25 times more likely to become severely obese as well. The results of the study are not definitive, and the researchers have yet to see whether it will be useful in the clinic.
Dr. Katherisan believes that the score can be used during what he calls "a golden period" of early childhood, which is between birth and eight years old. However, it is unclear which interventions are appropriate for children identified as high-risk for obesity.
There are limitations to the polygenic risk scores: People who are at a higher risk for obesity are not necessarily overweight. The team found that of the 10% of people at highest risk, about 17% of them still had a normal weight.
Learn more about the Center for Genomic Medicine
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