Personalised Medicine: A New Approach to Improving Health in Indigenous Australian Populations

Abstract

Personalised medicine is a newly emerging field with much to offer to all populations in improved clinical treatment options. Since the 1970s, clinicians and researchers have all been working towards improving the health of Indigenous Australians. However, there has been little research on the impact of genetics on Indigenous health, how genetic and environmental factors interact to contribute to poor health in Indigenous people, and how genetic factors specific to Indigenous people affect their responses to particular treatments. This short review highlights the urgent need for more genetic studies specific to Indigenous people in order to provide more appropriate care and to improve health outcomes. This paper explores why genetic work with Indigenous communities has been limited, how personalised medicine could benefit Indigenous communities, and highlights a number of specific instances in which personalised medicine has been critical for improving morbidity and mortality in other high-risk groups. In order to take the next step in advancing the health of Indigenous peoples, targeted research into the genetic factors behind chronic diseases is critically needed. This research may allow clinicians a better understanding of how genetic factors interact with environmental factors to influence an Indigenous Australian's individual risk of disease, prognosis, and response to therapies. It is hoped that this knowledge will produce clinical interventions that will help deliver clearly targeted, more appropriate care to this at-risk population.

Keywords: Aboriginal health; Genetics research; Indigenous health; Personalised medicine; Pharmacogenomics.