Skip to main content

Polygenic Risk Scores

Meaning

Polygenic Risk Scores (PRS) are a quantitative estimate of an individual’s genetic predisposition to a complex trait or disease, calculated by summing the effects of thousands of common genetic variants across the entire genome. Unlike single-gene disorders, complex conditions like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or certain hormonal cancers are influenced by many genes, each contributing a small, additive effect. A PRS provides a personalized, continuous score that stratifies an individual’s genetic risk relative to the general population, offering a powerful tool for early risk identification and personalized preventative strategies in hormonal health. This score is a key component of predictive longevity medicine.