Abstract:
Large population databases are a growing trend in genomics research. They are collections designed to link an individuals' medical information, family history, and phenotypic data to genotypic data, derived from a tissue sample. It is believed that a large, diverse assembly of such data will be a useful public health tool, aid in low penetrant gene discovery, and help establish genic susceptibilities to common complex disorders. History, basic design components, and information collection issues are addressed as a background to providing a common framework for population databases. Characterizations and comparisons are also made on existing and proposed large population databases for both national and international projects. An analysis has been included on the creation of a comprehensive US population database, which has been proposed to include one million participants. The issues addressed include those unique to this country, such as lack of universal healthcare, medical records standardization, population diversity, and privacy protection. Further ethical, legal, and social issues raised may have relevance to a possible US population database and other proposed databases. These issues should be more carefully considered in much more depth during the development of such large database projects if they are to be successful.