Germline genes refer to genes we are born with, the genes we inherit. But then there are genomic things that change because of where we grew up and our current local environment. But it’s basically what you eat, what you inhale. What you’re running away from, what you feel when you see something or somebody you know. What your home life is like, if you have financial security, where you live, where you work, your ability to get to the hospital, and it’s not always related or necessarily related to poverty.
That’s called epigenetics, and you know what ends up happening over time is based on your living environment and lived experiences. That causes genetic and genomic changes that influence how your genes are expressed over time. It’s not just poverty, but it does have a big part to do with the exposures and stressors you have throughout life. All of these things influence health outcomes.