Nurse Researchers’ Unique Contributions to the Field of Genetics

In a January 2009 editorial entitled “The Evolving Contribution of Nurse Researchers to Genetics, as Seen Through the Prism of Biological Research for Nursing,” I wrote that, in 1999, our authors were writing about the nurse’s role in genetics, but by 2009, they were writing articles about genetics methods and reports on genetics studies. Now, in 2015, nurse researchers have submitted far more genetics manuscripts than ever before. In fact, of the 49 manuscripts we accepted for publication in Biological Research for Nursing in the last year, 24% had a genetic component. As a nurse-physiologist, I am very pleased to see our progress in this area.

In the current issue, we have compiled a sample of the genetics-focused manuscripts we have accepted for publication over the last year. While the medical profession has typically focused on the interaction of genes and disease, this issue demonstrates that many of our nurse authors have focused more on the interaction of genes and psychological or behavioral issues. These authors have concluded that

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a result of genetic effects, environmental factors, and the interaction of the two.

Symptom severity in fibromyalgia is related to upregulation of selected genes.

Differential expression of sleep-regulating genes contributes to insomnia.

Cognitive impairment after breast cancer treatment is associated with selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Pregnancy weight gain in Black women is associated with selected SNPs.

There are likely dopaminergic genetic contributions to obesity.

Smoking intensity is associated with polymorphisms of genes related to nicotine-dopamine metabolism.

If further research confirms that these behavioral issues (e.g., smoking, obesity, and sleep) are truly gene related, we will have to modify our perceptions and develop more appropriate interventions.

This issue also features the work of nurse geneticists who have focused on physiological issues and concluded that

Triglycerides in the third trimester of pregnancy are lower in women with a certain genotype.

Group B streptococcus colonization in pregnant women is not associated with DNA methylation patterns in blood.

Missense coding SNPs may modify the phenotype in elderly women, making them more likely to develop vitamin B12 malabsorption.

More and more nurse researchers are working in genetics. They are supported in this work by the International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG), a global nursing specialty organization dedicated to genomic health care, education, research, and scholarship. As part of our spotlight on genetics in this issue, Dr. Sheila Alexander, current president of ISONG, has contributed a second editorial discussing nurses’ work in genetics, genomics, and epigenetics more broadly and highlighting the upcoming ISONG congress as an opportunity for nurse researchers, clinicians, and educators to participate in the growing community of nurses working in these exciting fields.