Contents

Disclaimer

Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.

Show Summary Details
Page of

Gene–environment interactions and public health 

Gene–environment interactions and public health
Chapter:
Gene–environment interactions and public health
Author(s):

Paolo Vineis

and Rodolfo Saracci

DOI:
10.1093/med/9780199218707.003.0058
Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD MEDICINE ONLINE (www.oxfordmedicine.com). © Oxford University Press, 2022. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Medicine Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 16 May 2022

This chapter discusses the history of the establishment of the role of genes in the hereditary causation of disease. It also covers the present day understanding of gene-environment interactions, and finally looks at public health applications and perspectives concerning this aspect of biomedicine.

is a large consensus among scientists that only a minor fraction of diseases, of the order of about 5 per cent, is monogenic while the vast majority of cases are due to the interplay or ‘interaction’ of genetic and environmental factors, the latter being often dominant.

A number of potential public health applications flowing from the investigation of gene-environment interactions may be imagined, the common element of which is by definition the identification of subjects carrying different gene variants through genetic testing within families already known to be at high risk of disease or genetic screening in the general population The former is well established within clinical genetics (though the new developments may pose new specific problems) while the latter opens perspectives worth discussion.

Access to the complete content on Oxford Medicine Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.