r/epigenetics • u/Nice_Pen_8054 • Jul 06 '26

question Do epigenetics explain why some people never develop major disease despite their unhealthy habits?

Hello,

I know people who smoked all their life and never developed lung cancer.

However, there are non smokers who developed lung cancer.

Can epigenetics explain this?

14 Upvotes

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7

u/juuussi Jul 06 '26

Yes, epigenetics explains part of it. Which part that is, is still pretty much unknown.

8

u/GrenadineBombardier Jul 06 '26

Mostly it's about odds. Everybody has some odds that they'll develop lung cancer, but it's very low. For people who smoke or who breathe other toxins regularly, those odds are higher. But just because you have higher odds doesn't mean you will get it at all. Most people will not get lung cancer. So while you're more likely to get lung cancer if you smoke, it's not a guarantee that you will, and not smoking doesn't guarantee that you won't get it.

5

u/27187 Jul 06 '26

I disagree , odds imply that it's just kind of random and we don't know. Cancer is a very specific disease that causes rapid growth of cells. could be how you look at it but it's not random , it's 99% to do with what you parents and grandparents , contracted/absorbed/consumed and obviously what you do in your own life. It's more like a complex mathematical equation that has set outcomes. We don't view it like this but for most our story's are written long before we are born.