Polygenic Scores Download Form

Download WLS Polygenic Scores Data and Documentation

Despite past and present misuses of genomic data, the WLS recognizes the promise that such data have for advancing scientific inquiry into the multiple, complex factors that shape health and well-being across the life course. We are therefore pleased to offer registered data users access to a rich collection of polygenic scores. To guard against overly reductive or deterministic uses of the genomic data, all registrations must include a brief statement acknowledging the potential pitfalls of genomics research and summarizing the researchers’ plan to avoid them in the course of the design and conduct of the study as well as in the interpretation and reporting of findings.

Here is an example of a good statement:

We intend to use the WLS data for a project studying social and genetic factors influencing life quality in old age. We plan on using polygenic scores as simple measures of genetic predispositions to (mental) health outcomes, avoiding any interpretations about genetic reductivism and determinism. We intend to study the correlations between the polygenic scores and the outcomes, and how social factors (such as educational level) may mediate or moderate (reinforce or compensate) for genetic predispositions. We are well-aware that we cannot claim anything about the underlying genetic mechanisms, we will avoid any deterministic language in interpretation and dissemination of results. We are aware of the misuse of genetic information to justify inequality and even mistreatment of certain groups. Our goal is, in contrast, to enrich social stratification studies on health with genetic information in order to reach a more nuanced understanding of inequality in health.

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