Psychiatric Genetic Research in Africa

Le résumé fourni par la source

Psychiatric disorders are a leading cause of global disease burden, with the burden in Africa growing yet remaining largely under-recognized and under-addressed. Although there is mounting evidence for a genetic contribution to psychiatric disorders, African populations remain largely underrepresented in global psychiatric genetic studies. Given Africa’s unparalleled genetic diversity and the high proportion of unique alleles, psychiatric genetic research in Africa presents a critical opportunity for discovery of novel genetic risk factors for various psychiatric disorders. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of psychiatric genetic research in Africa, contextualized within the continent’s unique epidemiological, cultural, and genomic landscape. It discusses the public health burden of mental disorders in Africa; existing genetics findings; factors that have hindered psychiatric genetic research on the continent, such as the complexity of analyzing large psychiatric genetic data from Africa, limited funding, cultural mistrust issues, among others; and proposed approaches to mitigate them. It also highlights key ongoing psychiatric genetic research initiatives on the continent, including the NeuroGAP, DepGenAfrica, and GENDA studies as well as future directions. The chapter also explores how multi-omic integration, epigenetics, and translational genomics can inform biomarker discovery, precision medicine, and culturally appropriate mental health interventions in Africa. We argue that psychiatric genetic research in Africa is not only critical for addressing local health inequities but also offers a vital frontier for global discovery and innovation. Greater investment in African-led research will enrich our collective understanding of mental health and accelerate the global shift toward equitable precision psychiatry.

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