Implications of population structure and ancestry on asthma genetic studies.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose of review

The frequency and severity of asthma differ between different racial and ethnic groups. An understanding of the genetic basis for these differences could constitute future genetic biomarker panels for predicting asthma risk and progression in individuals from different ethnic groups.

Recent themes

The recent mixing of different ancestries during the European colonization of the Americas and the African slave trade has resulted in the complex population structures identified in different ethnic groups. These population structures represent varying degrees of genetic diversity which impacts the allele frequency of individual variants and, thus, how the gene variation is utilized in genetic association studies. In this review, we will discuss the basis for the

SUBMITTER: Ortega VE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4278361 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature