Diversity in EWAS: current state, challenges, and solutions

Charles E Breeze; Jason Y Y Wong; Stephan Beck; Sonja I Berndt; Nora Franceschini

doi:10.1186/s13073-022-01065-3

Diversity in EWAS: current state, challenges, and solutions

Genome Med. 2022 Jul 6;14(1):71. doi: 10.1186/s13073-022-01065-3.

Authors

Charles E Breeze^{1

2}, Jason Y Y Wong³, Stephan Beck⁴, Sonja I Berndt³, Nora Franceschini⁵

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. c.breeze@ucl.ac.uk.
² UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. c.breeze@ucl.ac.uk.
³ Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁴ UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. noraf@unc.edu.

Abstract

Here, we report a lack of diversity in epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) and DNA methylation (DNAm) data, discuss current challenges, and propose solutions for EWAS and DNAm research in diverse populations. The strategies we propose include fostering community involvement, new data generation, and cost-effective approaches such as locus-specific analysis and ancestry variable region analysis.

Publication types

Letter
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

DNA Methylation
Epigenesis, Genetic*
Epigenome*
Humans