Abstract

OCTAVIO-AGUILAR, Pablo  and  RAMOS-FRIAS, Josefina. Application of population genetics in the field of medicine . Biomédica [online]. 2014, vol.34, n.2, pp.171-179. ISSN 0120-4157.  https://doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v34i2.1540.

Human populations follow the same evolutionary principles as other organisms, although mixed with social and cultural elements, which can result in a high prevalence of certain diseases within specific ethnic groups. In this work, the Hardy-Weinberg principle is analyzed from a medical, social and biological viewpoint to understand the evolutionary processes of autosomal recessive diseases. It can be concluded that the incidence of these diseases is inversely related to the levels of genetic variability within populations, which depends on colonization, recolonization and migration events, as well as on social conventions such as racism, social stratification and segregation.

Keywords : Human ecology; genetic diseases, inborn; genetics, medical; biological evolution; cultural evolution; genetic drift.

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