ArticleJournal of medical ethics2008
Genes, race and research ethics: who's minding the store?
Article in Journal of medical ethics, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- Is pharmacogenetics being racialized? An investigation into the reinscription of racial beliefs in modern biomedicine.Theoretical medicine and bioethics · 2025Article
- Increasing equity in science requires better ethics training: A course by trainees, for trainees.Cell genomics · 2024Article
- A pilot study examining the relationship between chronic heroin use and telomere length among individuals of African ancestry.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2023Article
- Breast Cancer Germline Genetic Counseling and Testing for Populations of African Heritage Globally: A Scoping Review on Research, Practice, and Bioethical Considerations.JCO global oncology · 2023Article
- Review
- Including diverse and admixed populations in genetic epidemiology research.Genetic epidemiology · 2022Article
- Genetic Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease in Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations in the U.S.: A Scoping Review.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- Inconsistency in race and ethnic classification in pharmacogenetics studies and its potential clinical implications.Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine · 2019Article
- Intended and unintended effects of large-scale adverse event disclosure: a controlled before-after analysis of five large-scale notifications.BMJ quality & safety · 2015Article
- Pharmacogenetics in primary care: the promise of personalized medicine and the reality of racial profiling.Culture, medicine and psychiatry · 2013Article
- Ethnic differences in composite indices of femoral neck strength.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2012Article
- Variability in the efficacy of psychopharmaceuticals: contributions from pharmacogenomics, ethnopsychopharmacology, and psychological and psychiatric anthropologies.Culture, medicine and psychiatry · 2012Review
- A critical review of racial/ethnic variables in osteoporosis and bone density research.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2011Review
- Inclusion of racial and ethnic minorities in genetic research: advance the spirit by changing the rules?The Journal of law, medicine & ethics : a journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics · 2011Article
- Population description and its role in the interpretation of genetic association.Human genetics · 2010Review
- Looking for race in all the wrong places: analyzing the lack of productivity in the ongoing debate about race and genetics.Human genetics · 2009Review
- Race and ancestry in biomedical research: exploring the challenges.Genome medicine · 2009Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe search for genetic variants between racial/ethnic groups to explain differential disease susceptibility and drug response has provoked sharp criticisms, challenging the appropriateness of using race/ethnicity as a variable in genetics research, because such categories are social constructs and not biological classifications.
objectivesTo gain insight into how a group of genetic scientists conceptualise and use racial/ethnic variables in their work and their strategies for managing the ethical issues and consequences of this practice.
methodsIn-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 30 genetic researchers who use racial/ethnic variables in their research. Standard qualitative methods of content analysis were used.
resultsMost of the genetic researchers viewed racial/ethnic variables as arbitrary and very poorly defined, and in turn as scientifically inadequate. However, most defended their use, describing them as useful proxy variables on a road to "imminent medical progress". None had developed overt strategies for addressing these inadequacies, with many instead asserting that science will inevitably correct itself and saying that meanwhile researchers should "be careful" in the language chosen for reporting findings.
conclusionsWhile the legitimacy and consequences of using racial/ethnic variables in genetics research has been widely criticised, ethical oversight is left to genetic researchers themselves. Given the general vagueness and imprecision we found amongst these researchers regarding their use of these variables, they do not seem well equipped for such an undertaking. It would seem imperative that research ethicist move forward to develop specific policies and practices to assure the scientific integrity of genetic research on biological differences between population groups.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.