Wealthy people “have a higher risk of cancer” shows a new study from the University of Helsinki, Finland, which examined the relationship between socio-economic status and a range of diseases.
Rich people have a higher genetic risk of cancer than the poor PHOTO: pixabay
According to an article published in nypost.com, the results of the study revealed that those who are privileged to enjoy a high level of social welfare also have a higher genetic risk of suffering from breast cancer, prostate cancer and of other types of cancer.
Conversely, the less wealthy are genetically more prone to diabetes and arthritis, along with depression, alcoholism and lung cancer, experts said.
Study leader Dr Fiona Hagenbeek, from the university's Institute of Molecular Medicine in Finland (FIMM), said the initial results could lead to the addition of polygenic risk scores – used to measure disease risk based on genetics – to protocols. screening for certain diseases.
“Understanding that the impact of polygenic scores on disease risk is context-dependent may lead to further stratified screening protocols. For example, in the future, breast cancer screening protocols could be tailored so that women at high genetic risk who have a high level of education are screened earlier or more frequently than women at lower genetic risk. low or less educated“, Dr Hagenbeek told the South West News Service.
As the specialists explain
To carry out the study, Dr Hagenbeek's team obtained genomic, socio-economic status and health data from approximately 280,000 Finns between the ages of 35 and 80.
Previous studies would have shown the presence of some risk differences, similar to what the researchers discovered this time. However, this study was touted as the first to look for this link in 19 diseases common to high-income countries.
“Recognizing that such context also matters when incorporating genetic information into healthcare is an important first step. But now, we can show that genetic prediction of disease risk also depends on an individual's socioeconomic background. So while our genetic information does not change throughout life, the impact of genetics on disease risk changes as we age or our circumstances change.” the doctor explained.
The researchers stressed that further work can be done to fully understand the links between specific occupations and disease risk. Studies should also be conducted in lower-income countries, they said.
“Our study focused only on people of European ancestry, and it will also be important in the future to see whether our observations of the interaction between socioeconomic status and genetics for disease risk are replicated in people of multiple ancestry in high-income countries bigger and smaller,” said Dr. Hagenbeek.
“Rather, we should investigate and then include circumstances that modify genetic risk when making disease predictionshe said.
