New Asthma Gene Found

Genetics researchers have just uncovered a link between a genetic mutation found primarily in African Americans and an increased risk for asthma. The gene PYHIN1 and its variants were found in more than 30% of study participants of African descent. This fifth gene joins four other genes that were discovered last year.

This fifth gene is the first ever found only in African descendants, and could be one of the reasons in the U.S., African Americans have much higher rates of asthma than other racial-ethnic groups. Researchers have been looking for genetic factors to account for the disparity, and this new research helps to account for the difference.