Genetic Epidemiology of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Implications for Future Prevention and Treatment

The application of genetic epidemiology and genomics to the study of ALI/ARDS is in its infancy. Optimal study designs and approaches are still being discussed, and the large, prospective cohorts that will be necessary to examine gene-environment interaction and to confirm prior findings are being developed. There will be technological and analytic challenges to the proper study of genetic determinants of ALI/ARDS that will benefit from a multifaceted approach. There will be significant barriers to the translation of genetic epidemiology studies and genomics to preventive and therapeutic interventions, and any intervention is unlikely to occur in the near future. In oncology, where there is a longer history of genetic and molecular epidemiology studies, commercially available genetic tests now allow individualized risk assessment and tailored therapy for breast cancer. Although significant challenges lie ahead, there is a similar potential for such individualized risk assessment and therapy in critical care medicine. Large, well-phenotyped studies will be crucial to this goal.