Two of the top genomic databases—the ClinVar and Human Gene Mutation databases—reflect a measurable bias toward genetic data based on European ancestry over that of African ancestry. This bias, which was uncovered by a national group of researchers, increases the difficulty and cost of applying genomic medicine to minority populations.
Detailed findings appeared October 11 in the journal Nature Communications, in an article entitled, “Challenges and Disparities in the Application of Personalized Genomic Medicine to Populations with African Ancestry.” The article described how 642 whole-genome sequences from the Consortium on Asthma among African-ancestry Populations in the Americas (CAAPA) project were used to evaluate typical filters and databases.
