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Ancestry categories

The GWAS‑Studio platform uses a standardised list of ancestry (population) categories. Each category has a short, machine‑friendly code (the shortcut) that can be stored in the database or used in API calls, while the full description is shown to users.

Ancestry shortcut table

Shortcut Full description
AUS Aboriginal Australian
AFA African American or Afro‑Caribbean
AFR African unspecified
ASN Asian unspecified
CAS Central Asian
EAS East Asian
EUR European
MDE Greater Middle Eastern (Middle Eastern, North African, or Persian)
AMR Hispanic or Latin American
ISL Icelandic
NR Not reported / unknown
NAM Native American
OCE Oceanian
OTH Other
ADM Other admixed ancestry
SAS South Asian
SEA South East Asian
SAF Sub‑Saharan African

How to use the table

  • Database / API – store the shortcut (e.g., EUR) and map it to the full description when presenting data to users.
  • User interfaces – show the full description in dropdowns or tooltips; the shortcut can be used for filtering or as a compact label.
  • Validation – accept either the shortcut or the full description, then normalise to the shortcut for internal consistency.

The list is version‑controlled; any addition or change should be reflected both in src/gwasstudio/config/config.yaml (under ancestry_groups) and in this documentation.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5815218/table/Tab1/?report=objectonly