Recently, DTC Genetic tests have become very popular due to a combination of reasons:

Why are genetic health and wellness reports so useful?

1. Decreasing costs of genetic tests

The cost of genetic testing in general has been decreasing primarily due to technological advancements and increasing consumer demand.

2. Increased interest in proactive self-care

Over the last few years, the self-testing trend has gained popularity due to an increase in self-awareness and self-monitoring.

This trend is facilitated by self-learning over the internet and other media and the availability of low cost internet-connected wearable devices enabling us to understand our bodies better.

3. Personalization

Personalization in various aspects of health and well-being. We are at the end of the one-size-fits-all era.

We understand that carbohydrates are not equally bad for everybody, fat does not always cause high cholesterol levels, and COVID-19 does not affect everyone the same way.

Genetics enables us to understand our uniqueness in several aspects of life.

4. Ancestry has become a popular interest

Ancestry testing is the largest segment in DTC genetic testing. People love understanding where their ancestors came from- their genetic genealogy.

Not only that, The DNA data also allows people to discover their biological parents, siblings and other relatives through a variety of online services!

If you have received DTC genetic reports from one of many sources available, you may have come across the following:

Some results confirm your own observations about yourself, while others don't. Why?

There could be several reasons for this:

• The test itself was not conducted properly and the data is wrong.
• The test was done properly, but the sample was contaminated.
• The sample was good and the test was conducted properly, but the interpretation was inaccurate.
•  If all of the above were done correctly, but still there is discrepancy between your results and self-observation, keep reading.

Some examples of mismatch between self-observation and your genetic results: 

> You have been drinking milk all your life without complaints, but your genetic test results indicate that you are lactose intolerant.

> Your genetic results indicate that your are NOT gluten intolerant, however, you have issues consuming gluten.

The above are but a few examples of how there might be a mismatch between your genetic results and your own observations about yourself.

Regardless of the reasons below, please remember that your observations or your physicians/healthcare professional’s assessment of your health overrules the findings of the genetic test report.

In other words, your consumer genetic test report is always secondary to other assessments.

1. The field of genetics is fast evolving and our current state of knowledge is still in development. It’s possible that current research indicating a specific association might be revised in future.
2. The research based on which a specific trait is associated with a variant is not applicable in all ethnicities. Meaning, it is true for some ethnic groups and not true for others

Genetics is about probability. Having a variant only increases the likelihood that the association may be true for you, but it's not certain. It’s very much possible that other genetic and non-genetic factors overcome the association.

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