Genetic diseases

Is Race Becoming Less Important in Medicine?  

For years we’ve heard that Afro-Americans are at higher risk of diabetes and that the risk of having the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations is greater for Ashkenazi Jewish women. We’re so accustomed to race being associated with certain health risks we believe that if we aren’t of a race with an associated risk, we need not worry about that risk.

However, recent advances in medical technology and knowledge suggest this way of thinking is not entirely correct. More accurate say some in the profession, is the theory of personalized medicine. This theory suggests that it’s not race that matters most when determining individual health risk, but genetic sequencing.

Once you learn more about personalized medicine, the theory starts to make sense. After all, each one of us has a unique genetic makeup. And although there is still much to be learned about genetics, many in the field anticipate that one’s genetic makeup may soon be a more likely predictor of health risk than race.

What is race?

There was a time when physical features like skin color, hair type or eye shape defined a person’s race. But that is beginning to change as more people question what the term race really means. Plenty of people now believe that race is nothing more than an outdated category used by the Census Bureau, public schools and other government organizations.

Ask people you know what race category they belong to and you may find some who are hesitant to tick a single box that says “White” or “Asian” or African American”. Interestingly, “multi-racial” was the box chosen by approximately nine million people during the most recent U.S. census.

Furthermore, archeologists would argue that every one of us is a descendant of the same race, citing archaeological evidence dating back two million years that suggests all of our earliest ancestors originated from Africa.

But even if race is nothing more than a category that labels people, some doctors aren’t ready to do away with it completely. They point out that race-based trends do exist. For example, it’s now known that genetic traits for sickle cell disease, historically thought to strike only Africans, also appear in people originating from Mediterranean and Indian regions. These are regions that have or used to have problems with malaria and genetic researchers now know that the sickle cell trait protects against malaria.

Is there room for both?

As the cost of genetic sequencing continues to decline and research into identifying specific markers and their association with certain diseases intensifies, chances are good that doctors will soon be able to make more meaningful medical decisions. That however, won’t stop those who stand firm in their belief that race still has a place, especially in reaching people in certain high-risk populations.

While the controversy whether race or genetic sequencing is a better indicator of health risk continues, it’s comforting to know that many doctors still believe that asking questions about a patient’s lifestyle, habits and family history is a reliable way to calculate a predictive value for at-risk disease.