Polygenic scores lose accuracy fast across UK Biobank ancestry groups
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, the Institut Pasteur, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem derived polygenic scores for 245 traits using UK Biobank data, then tested them across nine ancestry groups within that same cohort. Keeping training and testing inside one dataset let them isolate genetic distance from confounders like geography and differences in data collection. Scores trained on Northwestern European individuals lost accuracy sharply and systematically when applied to other ancestry groups. The decline showed up even within European subgroups.
Polygenic risk scores need broader ancestral representation before they can be applied fairly across populations.
Source: Portability of 245 polygenic scores when derived from the UK Biobank and applied to 9 ancestry groups from the same cohort. (doi.org).
Written by the Genomes desk from the primary source linked above and checked against it. Research use only; not medical advice. Corrections: [email protected].
- UK Biobank expands genetic analysis to diverse ancestry groups September 18, 2025
- FinnGen study finds 30 new disease associations in Finnish population January 18, 2023
- GWAS Catalog adds sequencing data, links to Polygenic Score Catalog January 1, 2023
- Common gene variants change how a rare cleft palate mutation plays out July 1, 2022
- Diabetes subtypes traced to different genetic drivers November 4, 2021