Statins Could Be Given to Hundreds of Thousands Due to Genetic Markers

These are people - the so-called "invisible population" - who do not otherwise show any risks in other tests such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.

Professor Sir Peter Donnelly, the founder of Genomics Plc, made the claim at the UK Biobank Conference in London. He said, "There are a lot of people who aren't on the radar, who wouldn't have been offered statins, but who are at high risk when you include genetics."

Donnelly is pioneering a new predictive DNA test, to measure the contributions of thousands of genes. His research shows that about 500,000 people would be moved into a higher risk category.

Meanwhile, the research also shows that for every 1 million adults aged 40 to 55 who are identified as being at high risk of heart disease, if you also include a genetic risk score, approximately 25% could also move into the low-risk category, as they have protective genes that make heart disease less likely.

About four million people currently take statins in England.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, has called for such focused tests to be used to assess risk for common cancers and heart disease and introduced to the NHS as soon as possible.

The UK Leads the Way

This sort of personalised medicine and diagnostics is the future. With the Health Secretary acting as a big proponent of these changes, and with the UK already leading the way with genomics sequencing, we are likely to see the UK continue to show what is possible. These should be exciting times ahead.

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