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Bridget M. Kuehn

JAMA. 2008;299(16):1891.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has established a new center to explore how genetic and socioeconomic factors affect health.

The Intramural Center for Genomics and Health Disparities (NICGHD) will use genomics techniques to analyze genetic, clinical, lifestyle, and socioeconomic data to better understand the influences of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension on various populations. The center will be based on the NIH's Bethesda campus and will be administered by the National Human Genome Research Institute.

Although the genomes of any 2 individuals are very similar, there are many subtle differences that may contribute to biological traits, such as a person's response to medications or susceptibility to diseases, according to the NIH. It is hoped that by examining the ways these subtle genomic differences interact with each other and with environmental factors, researchers at the new center may provide insights into why some diseases affect . . . [Full Text of this Article]