Question: A science journalist is creating a data visualization about advances in personalized medicine. Which genetic testing method is most appropriate for identifying individual susceptibility to complex diseases like diabetes or heart disease?

Sat, 02 May 2026 20:03:05 +0000

Long-Term Genomic Profiling: The Most Effective Genetic Testing Method for Assessing Individual Risk in Complex Diseases In the rapidly evolving field of personalized medicine, a central challenge for healthcare providers and patients alike is identifying individual susceptibility to complex, multifactorial diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. While lifestyle and environmental factors play significant roles, genetic predisposition remains a key determinant. Among various genetic testing methods, long-term genomic profiling—specifically polygenic risk scoring based on whole-genome sequencing data— stands out as the most appropriate approach for accurately assessing an individual’s susceptibility to these complex conditions. ### Why Polygenic Risk Scores (PRS) Stand Out for Complex Diseases Complex diseases like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disorders do not result from a single gene variant but emerge from the cumulative influence of thousands of common genetic variants, each contributing a small effect. Traditional single-locus testing (e.g., for BRCA1 in breast cancer) is insufficient for predicting risk in such polygenic conditions. Instead, long-term genomic profiling leverages polygenic risk scoring (PRS), a method that aggregates the effects of many genetic variants across the genome to estimate an individual’s inherited risk.