Role of the environment in human disease genomics

Case study of type 2 diabetes: particularities and limitations in a context of genetization of life

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34024/prometeica.2023.28.14982

Keywords:

Genomics, . Biological Basis of Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Geneticization, Environment

Abstract

Genomics generates knowledge and technologies to intervene in human health. It also presents the potential for complex approaches to disease, including the emerging characteristics of gene networks and interactions with the environment. In this regard, we inquired about the notions of environment found in disease genomics. Based on scientific articles from genomic research addressing Type 2 Diabetes (TD2) published in high-impact journals between 2018-2020, we analyze how the environment is operationalized and the causal role assigned to it. Our analysis shows that such research: i) tends to omit the causal role of the environment in the development of T2D, ii) excludes, almost completely, any operationalization of the environment in experimental designs, and iii) focuses explanations of the disease on individual genomic elements that favor the development of particular technologies. We characterize these omissions as part of the process of "genetization of life", understood as the tendency to conceive people in their differences, behaviors, illnesses or diseases, mainly on the basis of their genetic characteristics. Moreover, defining disease almost exclusively around the presence of specific genomic variants implies a particular choice and approach to suffering, which privatizes and internalizes the causes of the disease in the person and promotes approaches and interventions at the individual level, making social factors and material limitations invisible.

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Published

2023-11-11

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Vol. 28 (2023): Prometeica - v 28 (11/2023 - 02/2024)

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Copyright (c) 2023 Ailin Delvitto, Nicolás José Lavagnino, Carolina Ocampo Mallou

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How to Cite

Delvitto, A., Lavagnino, N. J. ., & Ocampo Mallou, C. . (2023). Role of the environment in human disease genomics: Case study of type 2 diabetes: particularities and limitations in a context of genetization of life. Prometeica - Journal of Philosophy and Science, 28, 19-35. https://doi.org/10.34024/prometeica.2023.28.14982
Received 2023-04-03
Accepted 2023-10-31
Published 2023-11-11