Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Kits Vary in Predictions of Disease Risk
By Medical Xpress,
Medical Xpress
| 07. 17. 2013
An in-depth analysis and comparison study conducted by investigators at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health demonstrated variations in predicted disease risks by companies that offer direct-to-consumer personal genome testing.
Led by Cecile Janssens, PhD, research professor of Epidemiology, the team investigated DNA test results from three "direct- to-consumer" genome testing companies (23andMe, deCODEme, and Navigenics) to assess and compare their predictive abilities. Results show that predicted risks differed among the companies and were contradictory for certain traits in certain individuals.
The complete findings are available in the online edition of Genetics in Medicine.
"Although two of the companies that we studied are no longer operating, genotyping and sequencing is becoming less expensive and testing such as this is increasingly popular," explains Janssens. "The methods used for predicting these types of results are of important concern."
Test results provided by the three companies indicated an individual's risks for a large number of diseases. The study was conducted by creating DNA data for a hypothetical population of 100,000 individuals which is a less expensive and equally valid method for demonstrating the...
Related Articles
What We Inherit by Sam Trejo and Daphne O. Martschenko; and Original Sin by Kathryn Paige Harden have a great deal in common, with substantial differences in style and emphasis. Both books attempt, in different ways, to show the reader just where current research into human genomics stands, where that might be going, and why the authors are interested. In short, the influence of genomic research on our societies is already large and seems likely to change them in ways...
By Dan Falk, Nautilus | 08.20.2026
The pseudoscience of eugenics, founded on the mistaken notion that nature envisions some “right” combination of genes, and that selective breeding can improve the human race, is making a comeback. While the heyday of eugenics was a century ago, the...
By Emily Packard Dawson and Lainie Friedman Ross, MedPage Today | 08.18.2026
Few things evoke a greater sense of desperation than a parent seeking an experimental treatment for their child. That desperation can make even extraordinary risks seem worth taking. This dynamic has come into stark relief after Mei, a 6-year-old girl...
By Editors, Nature | 08.18.2026
Shinya Yamanaka doesn’t see himself as a celebrity. But people do recognize the stem-cell researcher when he’s out for a run, often while training for a marathon, on the streets of Kyoto, Japan.
Many of them call out words of...
