The Emerging Role of Admixture in the Pharmacogenetics of Puerto Rican Hispanics.

Admixture is of great relevance to the clinical application of pharmacogenetics and personalized medicine. Preliminary findings in Puerto Ricans further substantiate the argument for admixture as a critical covariate in a customized DNA-guided warfarin dosing algorithm. To this purpose, a genome-wide approach that incorporates admixture as an independent predictor of dose variability in DNA-guided algorithms has been postulated. Admixture is expected to be able to reveal some relevant associations in the genetic epidemiology of Hispanics and will be indispensable to assure that pharmacogenomic research can be pursued in such mixed populations. Consequently, the clinical utility of knowing an individual's genotype before initiating drug treatment in Puerto Ricans, and Hispanics in general, will finally be untangled by developing a "Genetic Prescription Model" that takes admixture into consideration. This approach will help lead physicians and patients to their desired treatment goal, resulting in more effective healthcare in admixed people.