The Risk of Developing a Disease Linked to Genetics Tends to Decrease with Age
Published:31 Aug.2021 Source:PLOS
People often get sicker as they grow older, but new research from Gil McVean of the University of Oxford and colleagues finds that the impact of a person's genes on their risk of getting sick actually wanes with age. The researchers published their new findings August 26thin the journal PLOS Genetics.
The genes we inherit from our parents influence our risk for almost all diseases, from cancer to heart disease to autoimmune disorders. With new genomic technologies, scientists can now use a person's genome to predict their future disease risk. However, recent work has shown that the predictive power of a person's genetics can depend on their age, sex and ethnicity.