Integrating Genomics into Psychiatry in India: A Narrative Review on Opportunities and Challenges

Genomic medicine is transforming psychiatry by revealing the genetic aetiology of mental illness. The diversity of India’s population presents a singular opportunity to incorporate genomic information into psychiatric practice. This review discusses recent developments in psychiatric genomics, such as Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), Polygenic Risk Scores (PRS), and pharmacogenomics, which facilitate more tailored mental health interventions. Pharmacogenomics promises to individualise treatments based on genetic profiles, whereas epigenetics and gene-environment interactions shed light on the biological underpinnings of mental health across various sociocultural settings. Genomic psychiatry in India has the potential to be applied in personalised medicine, early risk prediction, targeted therapies, and informing national mental health policy. Yet, the uptake of genomic psychiatry is hindered by infrastructure constraints, ethical as well as privacy issues, and the requirement of cultural competence. The proposed directions include increased research, combining genomic Learning Health Systems (gLHS), and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in predictive analytics. This review sums up with major recommendations for progressing genomic psychiatry in India through modifications in policy, funding for research, and public education efforts.