A comprehensive genetic study of the Mexican population reveals large genetic diversity, according to researchers from UC San Francisco, Stanford University, and Mexico’s National Institute on Genomic Medicine. The research helps to further understand Latino health.

The study documented nearly one million genetic variants  among more than 1,000 individuals. Study results show genetic variations as widespread as those between certain Europeans and Asians, indicating that local populations have been isolated for hundreds to thousands of years.

Such differences help to explain the variation of health problems in Latinos of Mexican descent, such as different rates of breast cancer and asthma, and therapeutic responses.

Study results appear in the June 13 online edition of the journal Science.

Christopher Gignoux, PhD, the lead author on the study, along with Andres Moreno-Estrada, MD, PhD, said in a statement, “Over thousands of years, there’s been a tremendous language and cultural diversity across Mexico, with large empires like the Aztec and Maya, as well as small, isolated populations.” He continued, “Not only were we able to measure this diversity across the country, but we identified tremendous genetic diversity, with real disease implications based on where, precisely, your ancestors are from in Mexico.”