Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTG) has announced the publication of a peer-reviewed paper describing the development and validation of the polygenic risk scores that underlie the risk predictions for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in the geneType Multi-Risk Test.
The paper is co-authored by Professor John Hopper and Associate Professor Enes Makalic from the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Melbourne, and GTG science team members, Dr Chi Kuen Wong, Dr Gillian Dite, Lawrence Whiting, Dr Nicholas Murphy and Dr Richard Allman.
The paper titled 'Polygenic risk scores for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes' has been published in PLOS ONE.
The research team used a sampling strategy that enabled the true performance of the polygenic risk score to be determined and not be influenced by the effects of age and sex.
Cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes are leading and serious conditions in Australia.
In 2018, more than four million Australians reported having cardiovascular disease. In 2021, an estimated 571,000 Australians aged 18 and over had coronary artery disease, the single leading cause of death resulting in 16,600 deaths.
Atrial fibrillation is thought to affect approximately 2 per cent of the Australian population, equivalent to more than 500,000 people. Type 2 diabetes is the seventh most common cause of death in Australia and almost 1.9 million Australians have diabetes, including 500,000 who are not yet diagnosed.
Genetic Technologies’ CEO Simon Morriss said, “Implementation of risk assessment tests, such as our geneType Multi-Risk Test, that accurately predict the risk of a patient developing one of these serious diseases, will enable early intervention with great potential for improved patient outcomes.”