Munung N S, Mayosi B M, de Vries J
Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
Dean's Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Glob Health Epidemiol Genom. 2018 Jun 8;3:e12. doi: 10.1017/gheg.2018.3. eCollection 2018.
Africa may be heading for an era of genomics medicine. There are also expectations that genomics may play a role in reducing global health inequities. However, the near lack of genomics studies on African populations has led to concerns that genomics may widen, rather than close, the global health inequity gap. To prevent a possible genomics divide, the genomics 'revolution' has been extended to Africa. This is motivated, in part, by Africa's rich genetic diversity and high disease burden. What remains unclear, however, are the prospects of using genomics technology for healthcare in Africa. In this qualitative study, we explored the views of 17 genomics researchers in Africa on the prospects and challenges of genomics medicine in Africa. Interviewees were researchers in Africa who were involved in genomics research projects in Africa. Analysis of in-depth interviews suggest that genomics medicine may have an impact on disease surveillance, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. However, Africa's capacity for genomics medicine, current research priorities in genomics and the translation of research findings will be key defining factors impacting on the ability of genomics medicine to improve healthcare in Africa.
非洲可能正迈向基因组医学时代。人们还期望基因组学能在减少全球健康不平等方面发挥作用。然而，针对非洲人群的基因组学研究几乎空白，这引发了人们的担忧，即基因组学可能会扩大而非缩小全球健康不平等差距。为防止可能出现的基因组学鸿沟，基因组学“革命”已扩展至非洲。部分原因是非洲丰富的遗传多样性和高疾病负担。然而，尚不清楚在非洲将基因组学技术用于医疗保健的前景如何。在这项定性研究中，我们探讨了17位非洲基因组学研究人员对非洲基因组医学的前景和挑战的看法。受访者是参与非洲基因组学研究项目的非洲研究人员。深入访谈分析表明，基因组医学可能会对疾病监测、诊断、治疗和预防产生影响。然而，非洲的基因组医学能力、当前基因组学研究重点以及研究结果的转化将是影响基因组医学改善非洲医疗保健能力的关键决定性因素。
