Common genetic variants associated with risk of Parkinson’s disease in non-European populations: A PROSPERO registered systematic review based on genome-wide association studies

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex genetic neurodegenerative disorder. Epidemiology genetic discoveries have increased our understanding of the molecular contributors to Parkinson’s pathophysiology, especially when associated with the advent of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) technologies in the discovery of the risk linked to common germline genetic variants. The biggest limitation of those studies on genetic susceptibility to PD is the lack of information describing the impact of individuals’ ancestry on risk associations, especially in non-European populations. Current genetic data are mainly based on individuals of European origin, particularly those included in the UK biobank project. The effects of these ethical discrepancies can directly impact the discovery of risk variants associated with PD susceptibility and clinical management of PD patients in admixture populations, for example. Thus, we performed a PROSPERO-registered systematic review to elucidate the current state of the art about the role of common genetic variants based on GWAS studies in advancing precision medicine for PD susceptibility and pathobiology in multiethnic and non-European populations. Also, we discuss whether there are similarities or discrepancies of these data in relation to genomic data obtained in studies with PD patients of European origin.