Genetics and disease prevention: Complementary or Contradictory?

Diane C. Seibert*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Clinicians may feel that nothing can be done to change genes, so prevention in a genetic context seems ridiculous. The reality is that genetic preventive healthcare has been a part of clinical practice for years and that future applications are almost limitless. It will soon be possible to sequence an individual's genome, scan it for important gene variations, and create an individualized health plan to modify the effects of these variations, optimizing that individual's health over a lifetime. This article presents an overview of selected clinical disorders, describes ways in which genetics is already being used to improve clinical outcomes, and offers a glimpse into the future of personalized medicine.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)507-516
Number of pages10
JournalJournal for Nurse Practitioners
Volume6
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2010

Keywords

  • Disease prevention
  • Epigenetics
  • Family history
  • Genetics
  • Health promotion
  • Human genome
  • Metagenomics
  • Pharmacogenomics

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