Race and genetics - Wikipedia
There are certain statistical differences between racial groups in susceptibility to certain diseases.
[73] Genes change in response to local diseases; for example, people who are
Duffy-negative tend to have a higher resistance to malaria. The Duffy negative phenotype is highly frequent in central Africa and the frequency decreases with distance away from Central Africa, with higher frequencies in global populations with high degrees of recent African immigration. This suggests that the Duffy negative genotype evolved in Sub-Saharan Africa and was subsequently positively selected for in the Malaria endemic zone.
[74] A number of genetic conditions prevalent in malaria-endemic areas may provide
genetic resistance to malaria, including
sickle cell disease,
thalassaemias and
glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common life-limiting
autosomal recessive disease among people of European ancestry; a hypothesized
heterozygote advantage, providing resistance to diseases earlier common in Europe, has been challenged.
[75] Scientists Michael Yudell, Dorothy Roberts, Rob DeSalle, and Sarah Tishkoff argue that using these associations in the practice of medicine has led doctors to overlook or misidentify disease: "For example, hemoglobinopathies can be misdiagnosed because of the identification of sickle-cell as a 'Black' disease and thalassemia as a 'Mediterranean' disease. Cystic fibrosis is underdiagnosed in populations of African ancestry, because it is thought of as a 'White' disease."
[76]
Information about a person's population of origin may aid in
diagnosis, and adverse drug responses may vary by group.
[42][
dubious – discuss] Because of the correlation between self-identified race and genetic clusters, medical treatments influenced by genetics have varying rates of success between self-defined racial groups.
[77] For this reason, some physicians[
who?] consider a patient's race in choosing the most effective treatment,
[78] and some drugs are marketed with race-specific instructions.
[79] Jorde and Wooding (2004) have argued that because of genetic variation within racial groups, when "it finally becomes feasible and available, individual genetic assessment of relevant genes will probably prove more useful than race in medical decision making". However, race continues to be a factor when examining groups (such as epidemiologic research).
[61] Some doctors and scientists such as geneticist
Neil Risch argue that using self-identified race as a proxy for ancestry is necessary to be able to get a sufficiently broad sample of different ancestral populations, and in turn to be able to provide health care that is tailored to the needs of minority groups.
[80]