For Immediate Release: Friday, October 23, 2026, 8:15 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time
Media Contact: Evelyn Mantegani, +1 240-833-2014, [email protected]
Rockville, Md. – Why do people with similar genetic risks experience different health outcomes? A new session at the ASHG 2026 Annual Meeting will examine how genetics, environmental exposures, and age interact across a lifetime, offering insights that could strengthen disease prevention and risk prediction.
By combining genetic information with detailed measurements of environmental exposures and molecular changes in the body, scientists are tracing how health risks develop across the life course. The findings suggest that environmental influences can change over time, becoming increasingly important for characteristics such as blood pressure and lung function. Identifying when these exposures matter most could help researchers design more accurate risk-prediction tools and focus prevention efforts at meaningful stages of life.
The work also offers new clues about familiar environmental concerns. Chemicals associated with plastics and cosmetics can affect gene regulation in blood-vessel cells, but genetic differences may shape each person’s cellular response. These interactions could help explain variation in cardiovascular disease susceptibility and identify possible targets for prevention. On a broader scale, it emphasizes the importance of specific types of studies to investigate how everyday environmental exposures, such as chemicals, diet, and pollution, may interact with our genes and affect health.
Studies of communities transitioning from traditional to urban lifestyles add another dimension. Genetic adaptations that supported health and survival in ancestral environments may have different effects under dramatically divergent modern conditions, potentially influencing cholesterol, body mass index and kidney function.
Overall, the research replaces “nature versus nurture” with a more useful understanding: genes, exposures and time continually shape one another. That insight could inform prevention strategies that better reflect how people actually live.
About the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)
The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) is the leading global organization advancing the science of human genetics and genomics. Representing nearly 8,000 researchers, clinicians, genetic counselors, educators, and other professionals, ASHG drives progress in understanding the human genome and its role in health and disease. The Society fosters innovation and collaboration through its flagship events and publications—including the ASHG Annual Meeting and its peer-reviewed journals The American Journal of Human Genetics and Human Genetics and Genomics Advances. ASHG also champions science advocacy, supports the next generation of genetics professionals, and promotes responsible policies and public engagement in genetics. Learn more at www.ashg.org.
6120 Executive Blvd, Suite 500 | Rockville, MD 20852 | 301.634.7300 | [email protected] | www.ashg.org
Connect with ASHG on Bluesky (@geneticssociety.bsky.social) |
X (@GeneticsSociety) | Facebook | LinkedIn