Introduction
Traditionally epidemiologists use descriptive, analytic, and experimental research methods to investigate public health issues. Once the descriptive epidemiology of a disease is known, specific analytic or experimental methods are utilized to study the issue further. As research continues and new questions are asked, it is not uncommon for new methods to be introduced. Often, these cutting-edge methods let researchers investigate public health issues in new ways. For example, consider meta-analysis, a relatively new method in biostatistics. To apply this method, no new data are collected. Instead, results from previous studies are combined and analyzed in new, complex ways. In recent years, meta-analysis has gained popularity among epidemiologists. Nevertheless, this approach has limitations and is not appropriate for all epidemiological research (Williams, 2005). Another method used in epidemiology research is gene-environment interactions. It is applied for the investigation of many complex diseases which are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.
Article Summary and Method Description
Gene-environment interplay was used by Bookman et al. (2011) to develop an integrative model to deal with common complex diseases. The researchers state that complex diseases and disorders, such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or psychiatric disorders, are the major concern of society since they have a high prevalence (Bookman et al., 2011). Thousands of genetic variants were screened to reveal the associations with the diseases. However, genetics is not the only factor conditioning these diseases. The role of various environments in the modification of novel genes should also be considered. Thus, gene-environment interaction should be discovered. It will give a better understanding of complex diseases etiology and contribute to the prevention strategies. The environments in their broad sense include “airborne chemical and biological agents, dietary intake, physical activity, addictive substances, and psychosocial stress” (Bookman et al., 2011, p.220).
Anno (2016) mentions that gene-environment interactions have an impact on the development of complex diseases. The results of these interactions can be applied in different spheres. The investigation of gene-environment interactions includes the understanding of skin color variations as adaptation, the application of information theoretic methods for their analysis, the practice of regional epidemiological study, etc. (Anno, 2016). On the whole, gene-environment interaction is the method that allows modeling the reaction of different genotypes to environmental changes based on the previous investigations of their interactions. It makes possible the prediction of influences that a certain environment has on the development of common complex diseases.
Advantages of the Method
The advantage of the method of gene-environment interaction is that it allows assessing both environmental and genetic influences with certain accuracy. Since the method gives the possibility to model the etiology of disorders conditioned by both environmental and genetic influences, it also helps to identify ” individuals most susceptible to risk exposures or most amenable to preventive and therapeutic interventions” (Manuck & McCafferym, 2014, p.41). The method has a broad implementation in the research of various diseases. For example, Nickels et al. (2013) provide the evidence of gene-environment interactions between breast cancer susceptibility and environmental risk factors. In this case, it was the best method since there were many common genetic susceptibility loci for breast cancer but their connection with environmental or lifestyle risk factors was not traced. Another example of successful implementation of gene-environment interactions is the study of obesity origins (Bouret, Levin, & Ozanne, 2015). The authors concentrate on the interactions of genetic and environmental variables which influence the predisposition of people to obesity which is often accompanied with diabetes. The knowledge of those interactions can help in the development of prevention strategies.
Conclusions
It is considered that both genetic and non-genetic factors influence the development of common complex diseases. The genetic factors cannot be easily changed while non-genetic or environmental can be altered. The method of gene-environment interactions allows tracing the dependence of both factors. Consequently, the information on the interactions can be used to provide the work on prevention of complex diseases through the chance of environment. It can result in the increase of the preventive strategies efficiency and the improvement of general health of population.
References
Anno, S. (Ed.). (2016). Gene-environment interaction analysis: Methods in bioinformatics and computational biology. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Bookman, E. B., McAllister, K., Gillanders, E., Wanke, K., Balshaw, D., Rutter, J., … Birnbaum, L. S. (2011). Gene-environment interplay in common complex diseases: Forging an integrative model – Recommendations from an NIH workshop. Genetic Epidemiology, 35(4), 217-225.
Bouret, S., Levin, B.E., & Ozanne, S.E. (2015). Gene-environment interactions controlling energy and glucose homeostasis and the developmental origins of obesity. Psychological Reviews, 95(1), 47-82. Web.
Manuk, S.B., & McCaffery, J.M. (2014). Gene-environment interaction. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 41-70.
Nickels, S., Truong, T., Hein, R., Stevens, K., Buck, K., Behrens, S., … Chang-Claude, J. (2013). Evidence of gene-environment interactions between common breast cancer susceptibility loci and established environmental risk factors. PLOS Genetics, 9(3), 1-14. Web.