Polygenic Risk Scores (PRS) in Preventative Medicine
In 2026, Polygenic Risk Scores (PRS) are no longer just research tools; they are integrated into many US and European health system portals to predict common, complex diseases.
Cumulative Risk Assessment: Unlike single-gene tests (like BRCA), PRS aggregates the effects of thousands of small genetic variants. In 2026, it is commonly used to identify individuals at "high genetic risk" for Type 2 Diabetes, Coronary Artery Disease, and Schizophrenia.
Personalized Screening: Patients with a high PRS for heart disease are now being prescribed statins or advanced imaging in their 30s, long before clinical symptoms appear.
Multi-Ethnic PRS: A major 2026 milestone is the rollout of "ancestry-adjusted" scores, which solve the previous problem of PRS being less accurate for non-European populations.