Every other human being has a specific type of gene that can be used to determine a person’s identity. Certain characteristics and traits, including the abnormal DNA trait, are passed down to future generations. Any complications in the structure of the DNA are referred to as abnormal traits. This causes genetic disorders in people who have a genetic defect.
While many people confuse genetic and hereditary diseases, there is a significant difference between them despite their similarities. Not to mention that understanding the difference is difficult, but it is possible with comparison.
The main distinction between these two diseases is that genetic disease occurs when an abnormality occurs in an individual’s genome, whereas hereditary disease occurs when a mutation gene is passed down to subsequent generations. Let us delve into these two diseases and learn everything we can about them.
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Genetic disease
Our genes have a specific structure that allows them to function normally, but abnormalities can lead to a variety of genetic diseases. In the medical field, there are various patterns in genetic diseases.
- The DNA sequence of a single gene is changed or mutated in single gene inheritance. It is estimated that there are over 6000 diseases of this type, with one in every 200 babies affected. Cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, and hemochromatosis are a few examples.
- The next type of inheritance is multifactorial inheritance, which is caused by environmental factors as well as multiple gene mutations. Heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, and other conditions are examples.
- An abnormal chromosomal number or structure causes chromosomal inheritance. Down syndrome, Turners syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, and other conditions are examples of this inheritance.
Genetic diseases are not passed down from generation to generation unless they have heritable transmittable potential.
Hereditary disease
Hereditary diseases, as the name implies, are diseases that are passed down from generation to generation due to gene mutations. There is a good chance that any condition that the parents are currently suffering from will be seen in the child. Sickle cell anaemia, albinism, muscular dystrophy, galactosemia, and other hereditary diseases are among the most common.
We can understand the main difference between these two diseases because we know their characteristics. Hereditary diseases are passed down through generations, whereas genetic diseases remain in an individual without being passed down. Genetic disease can also be hereditary, depending on its transmission properties, but a change in mutation will always be present in an affected person’s genome.