title: [Collective health, the new genetics, and market eugenics].
abstract: Due to constant advances in genetic manipulation, the field of public health is faced with the possible emergence of a reductionist genomic emphasis, beyond socio-cultural influences. Under such circumstances, the main focus of public health interventions would shift towards a genomic approach to "individuals" and their "families", to the detriment of their consecrated object - "populations", thereby moving away from the current central priority of efforts (and resources) aimed at reducing ill-health due to socioeconomic inequalities. Even admitting the benefits of genetic knowledge, a new eugenic practice may emerge from the availability of genetic tests on the marketplace aimed at individuals that can afford to consume them.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Médica José Carlos Cabral de Almeida, Instituto Fernandes Figueira, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22250-020, Brasil. mhc@unisys.com.br
authors.forename: Maria Helena Cabral de Almeida
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Luis David
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Castiel
mesh_terms: D001675:Bioethics; D005053:Eugenics; D005823:Genetics; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D035503:Sociobiology