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Last Posted: Jun 02, 2023
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To Prevent Heart Attacks, Doctors Try a New Genetic Test
G Kolata, NY Times, May 30, 2023

A new genetic test, known as a polygenic risk score looks at a collection of thousands of genetic variants. Each variant contributes little on its own to heart disease risk, but the variants together might point to those who are likely to have heart attacks. Cardiologists hope to use such tests which are not typically covered by health insurance, to identify people most likely to have heart attacks long before they have them.

Development and Validation of the Vanderbilt PRS-KS, an Instrument to Quantify Polygenic Risk Score Knowledge
D Stubbs et al, GIM Open, May 31, 2023

As polygenic risk scores (PRS) enter clinical practice, healthcare providers' and the publics’ comprehension of PRS results are of great importance, yet poorly understood. We present the Vanderbilt Polygenic Risk Scores Knowledge Score (Vanderbilt PRS-KS), a tool to quantify PRS knowledge. The tool was developed by a team of genetic counselors and physicians to cover key conceptual facts pertaining to PRSs. We recruited (n=500) individuals with demographics representative of a U.S. sample and graduate-level healthcare students (n=74) at a large academic medical center to participate in this validation study.

Education and Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network, Challenges and Lessons Learned from a Large-Scale Clinical Trial Using Polygenic Risk Scores
JJ Connolly et al, Genet Med, May 26, 2023

The electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network is conducting a collaborative study which will return PRS to 25,000 pediatric and adult participants. All participants will receive a risk report, potentially classifying them as high risk (~2-10% per condition) for one or more of 10 conditions based on PRS. The study population is enriched by participants from racial and ethnic minority populations, underserved populations, and populations who experience poorer medical outcomes.

Coronary Artery Calcium Score and Polygenic Risk Score for the Prediction of Coronary Heart Disease Events
SS Khan et al, JAMA Network Open, May 23, 2023

Does discrimination change when either a coronary artery calcium score or a polygenic risk score is added to a coronary heart disease (CHD) prediction model based on traditional risk factors? In 2 population-based studies involving 3208 adults aged 45 years through 79 years (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis [MESA], median age 61 years and the Rotterdam Study [RS], median age, 67 years) and of European ancestry, a coronary artery calcium score significantly improved discrimination when added to a traditional risk factor–based score (MESA, 0.09; Rotterdam Study, 0.06), but the polygenic risk score did not. Similar findings were observed when stratified by median age.

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Disclaimer: Articles listed in the Public Health Genomics and Precision Health Knowledge Base are selected by the CDC Office of Public Health Genomics to provide current awareness of the literature and news. Inclusion in the update does not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor does it imply endorsement of the article's methods or findings. CDC and DHHS assume no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by CDC or DHHS. Opinion, findings and conclusions expressed by the original authors of items included in the update, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the opinion or views of CDC or DHHS. References to publications, news sources, and non-CDC Websites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement by CDC or DHHS.

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