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Can some multifactorial genetic conditions be prevented?

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2 fertility expert(s) answered this question

Answer from: Maria José Mendiola, MD, MSc in Human Genetics, MSc in Science Communication, ObGyn

Gynaecologist, Gynaecologist in Reproductive Medicine & Reproductive Genetics
Clínica Monterrico
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Multifactorial conditions that are important to remember are often linked with one or more other triggers. A way to stop or the impact of a multifactorial condition would be to control the known triggers. In people who are more likely to develop some signs and symptoms, this may be because of their family history or having the gene mutations, there are some few conditions that this triggers have been identified, for example, not enough vitamin folate in a developing baby’s environment has been linked to an increased chance that the baby may be born with a tube defect, neural tube defects such as spina bifida so adding folate in a woman’s diet by taking multivitamins both before pregnancy and in early pregnancy can reduce the chance of having a baby with these conditions. High cholesterol in the person’s diet can increase the chance for cardiovascular disease, obesity has also been linked to an increased chance for a person to have diabetes type 2 so, in this case, exercise and a healthy diet may be helpful in stopping or slowing the signs of these health concerns. So we have many health conditions, for example, like asthma, a high blood pressure that can be inherited one or more. In mutations like with a particular conditions and it’s not enough for that condition to develop so that means that the person’s genetic makeup may make them more likely to develop a particular health conditions but other causes need to also be there and otherwise the condition where they may never develop so, for example, the field of cancer genetics give us some clues about what steps need to happen in the pathway to developing some cancers. So this can help us to understand how all the multifactorial conditions could develop.

Answer from: Douglas Lester, PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Geneticist, Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer
Fertility Genomics
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Multifactorial diseases usually have an environmental component as well. It may be possible to alter your lifestyle to reduce your risk of these diseases or postpone the age of onset. We’re scraping the surface with fertility. Most fertility genes are rare. The multifactorial endometriosis and polycystic ovaries syndrome would be nice to handle them and see if there are environmental ways we can improve things.

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Multifactorial genetic conditions - can and how they be avoided?

Multifactorial genetic conditions are caused not only by genes but also by environmental factors. Can we, by altering our environment or lifestyle, prevent or reduce the risk of developing such a condition?

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