Tag Archives: closing

Closing the diversity divide in genetic research

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In biomedical research, understanding causes and physical characteristics, known as phenotypes, is crucial for correcting abnormalities like diseases. Scientists use genetic techniques to identify disease-associated locations within the human genome, a process known as Genome-wide association research (GWAS). This research helps predict disease risk and develop prevention or treatment strategies.

However, a significant issue with GWAS is the lack of diversity in the data, primarily comprising individuals of European descent. This limits the application of results to other ancestries like Asia or Africa. Previous studies on rheumatoid arthritis have highlighted this limitation.

Using GWAS analysis, scientists generate statistics to predict an individual’s likelihood of developing traits or diseases based on their genetics, resembling a polygenic score report card. This analysis also shows how genes are inherited and their impact on traits like height, weight, and blood pressure.

To address this diversity gap, researchers from Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea integrated European polygenic scores into genetic studies of various ancestries.

They utilized data from biobanks like UK Biobank, Biobank Japan, Taiwan Biobank, and Korea Genome Epidemiology Study, analyzing traits such as height, BMI, blood pressure, and diabetes. Statistical models helped calculate polygenic scores and evaluate GWAS results alongside European scores.

Their method aimed to enhance medical discoveries for underrepresented populations by analyzing genome segments unique to certain traits. They found that adjusting GWAS with polygenic scores improved the detection of rare genetic differences and trait relationships.

While primarily focusing on East Asian data, the authors suggested applying this method to other ancestries using polygenic scores. Although computationally intensive, this method shows promise in improving genetic data analysis for future GWAS studies.

In conclusion, the authors believe that their method will enhance genetic data exploration and can be easily integrated with existing GWAS software tools. They encourage researchers to utilize this method, particularly with underrepresented population data, to study genetic interactions and their effects on traits and diseases.


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Source: sciworthy.com

The global gender gap in life expectancy is closing.

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Over the past few decades, both men and women have benefited from improvements in medical care.

ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy

Women have historically lived longer than men, but due to lifestyle changes, men may be gradually catching up.

Worldwide, The average human lifespan has increased Over the past century, this trend is expected to continue as countries become richer.Despite this increase, disparities remain persistent. Between the average lifespan of men and women.

You can learn more about david atance del olmo Researchers from the University of Alcalá in Spain analyzed mortality data from 194 countries from 1990 to 2010. These countries can generally be classified into five groups according to longevity trends.

The group with the highest life expectancy consisted of countries with the highest incomes, including Australia, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the rest of Western Europe. Rwanda and Uganda were the only groups with the lowest life expectancy.

Comparing the average life expectancy of men and women in these countries, men in Rwanda and Uganda experienced the largest increase in life expectancy, from just 30.85 years in 1990 to 45.22 years, an increase of 14.37 years in 2010. became. Life expectancy for women in these countries increased by just 0.94 years from 50.37 years to 51.31 years during this period.

Among the group with the longest life expectancy, the average life expectancy in 1990 was 4.84 years, favoring women. This decreased slightly to 4.77 years for her in 2010, but researchers predict that the gap will narrow further, reaching 3.4 years for him by 2030.

The researchers observed the same trends for three other groups of countries.

Although the researchers only looked at data through 2010, they expect similar trends to continue into the present. However, they acknowledge that COVID-19 may have had an impact on human life expectancy, particularly for men.

In recent decades, both men and women have benefited from medical advances and increased awareness of diseases such as AIDS, Del Olmo said. Smoking and alcohol-related deaths, which particularly affect men, were also down, which may have contributed to narrowing the gap in life expectancy between men and women, he said.

“This study is consistent with epidemiological trends that suggest global life expectancy is increasing and gender disparities are narrowing over time,” he says. Brandon Yang at the University of California, San Francisco.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Closing the Gender Pain Gap: A Call to Prioritize Women’s Health

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Our health care system has fundamental flaws that are negatively impacting women.

Systemic gaps and biases have led to women’s pain being less understood and therefore mistreated compared to men’s pain – a phenomenon known as the gender pain gap. This gender pain gap is only expanding, with 11% more women than men feeling their pain is ignored or dismissed compared to 7% in 2022, according to a recent report commissioned by Nurofen.

The report surveyed over 5,000 people, finding that women in the UK take longer than men to seek medical attention for the same type of pain. Additionally, less than half of the women surveyed were diagnosed within 11 months, compared with two-thirds of men. More women still had undiagnosed pain after 12 months or more. A third of women reported that their late diagnoses were due to medical professionals not listening, taking them seriously, or ignoring them.

Another study found that 50% of women feel their pain is ignored, particularly when it comes to menstrual health. Additionally, medical professionals often dismiss women’s symptoms as “normal” and attribute them to hormones and stress, leading to women’s pain being ignored and undermining their confidence and authority as patients.

These pain disparities contribute to a shorter healthy lifespan for women, given that they suffer from chronic conditions more than men.

Despite the complexity and multifactorial nature of the gender pain gap, women have historically been underrepresented in medical research and clinical trials, contributing to a lack of understanding of women’s healthcare needs and pain symptoms.

Women continue to struggle to have their pain taken seriously and treated appropriately, resulting in significant impacts on their lives and wellbeing.

About our expert Dr. Marike Bigg

Marike is a science writer with a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cambridge. She argues that medicine is not gender-neutral, from research to diagnosis to treatment in her book, This Doesn’t Hurt: How Women Fail With Medications.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com