Ethnic and racial differences can greatly affect how our bodies respond to medicines. This is mostly because of differences in our genes.

Here are a few important points to consider:

• About 30% of how a person responds to medicine is linked to their genetics.
• There is a gene called CYP2D6 that plays a big role in how our bodies break down drugs. Some people have a harder time with this. For example, only 1% of East Asians have this issue, while about 20% of Africans do.
• Research shows that around 35% of people might have bad reactions to drugs because of their unique genetics.

Knowing about these differences is really important for personalized medicine. This means doctors can give patients the right medicine based on their genetic background.