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Genetic analysis, worthy investment or waste of money?
Astrocookie
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Hey guys lately I've been interested in getting some genetic testing done. I don't know much about biology but does anyone know if these would be accurate and worth the money or are they a waste of time? The ones I'm looking for are 23andMe and deCODEme, not sure if there are any others you may recommend. I'm interested in figuring out what diseases and cancers I might be susceptible to and if I may go bald or not. thanks
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And Disney World is nowhere in sight.
This. Also, has congress passed any protections so that your insurance company can't fuck you over based on genetic information? Because if insurance companies still can, there's a definite reason NOT to do that kind of testing.
I mean, for $500, it's not that bad of a price. People will argue its validity, but if you get a test that might carefully detect late-onset genetic disorders or cancers, then I say go for it. But I'd only do it if I know my family has a history/possible indication of a disorder. If it's something like Male pattern baldness, I wouldn't bother. But if my family has someone who had ataxia or huntingtons, then yes. ALSO, I would definitely say that the pros outweight the cons if you're considering having a child and want to know the possibility of hereditary disorders you might pass on.
Again, $500 is pretty cheap considering how much it costs to run tests to diagnose cancer or any other disease. If you're really curious, I'd say do it. It can't hurt other than set you back $500, which in todays inflation-based time, isn't something worth crying about if you're living comfortably.
(This is also someone who got a $4500 test to assess Sleep apnea, so yeah, that's a cheap test)
Though if the results are random crap anyway might not be worth it.
You have a genetic anomaly that hightens the risk of getting <random illness> by x percent.
What they won't tell you is how high that risk in general is. So even if you have a 200% higher chance of getting something, if the overall chance of getting it is something like 0,000035% it's still nothing to be concerned about.
And Disney World is nowhere in sight.
Not only is genetic analysis still in its infancy, but let's say you DO have a genetic disorder... there isn't much you are going to be able to do about it except worry.
I guess if you have the money then do it, but if not, there's better things you can do for your health.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Its a personal choice, but I think its a waste of money and piece of mind.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
Now I'll give you the opposite "most optimistic" benefit view:
1) There are certain alleles that are actually linked closely enough to diseases that, if you found out you had enough of them, could be enough to make some sort of lifestyle change worthwhile
2) There are more and more studies coming out all the time that link specific alleles to specific phenotypes that, while maybe have a 1/1000 chance of being useful to you, do have that possibility (for example, there are some genotypes that are associated with better / worse responses to certain drugs, so if you knew you had them you might choose one medication over another)
3) If you're the kind of person that will see something like "you have a 2.5% higher risk for heart disease" and think "ok, maybe this will be the motivation I need to start exercising more", then it wouldn't be terrible
Of course, the truth is really that this field is in its infancy, and from a medical perspective you're unlikely to get anything actionable or useful out of it. Right now, the 23andMe analysis is awesome if you're interested in geneology / family history / tracing ancestory kind of things, but in terms of medical usefulness it's not really that great. (And this is more of a problem with the current state of human genetics than a problem with the technology specifically; even for something like height, which we know is very heritable, the best single genetic changes that link to height explain something like ~2% of the variance in heights).
In another 5 years or so, this is very likely to be completely different (both because a) gene therapy is nudging the edge of being possible, and b) more and more large-scale linkage experiments are being done to link traits with genotypes), but for now you're unlikely to get $500 worth of MEDICAL usefulness out of it (and I say this despite having heard a couple talks about the analysis discussed at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810162007.htm , specifically the part discussing predisposition to responses to cholesterol drugs)
And of course, if the opposite of 3) is true, then you should stay the hell away. This is basically the worst-case scenario for someone who is a hypochondriac - you'll find out all sorts of things that you have a 1% higher or lower risk for, which is probably less than the risk added by the choice of drinking soda or water for lunch. If you can think reasonably and understand that very small risks are something to consider and file in the back of your head but not go crazy about, then it's fine; if you're going to go on a health binge because you have a couple alleles that put you at a 1% higher risk of high cholesterol (or the reverse, that because you have a 2% link to lower cholesterol, you'll decide to forgo your diet and eat cheeseburgers every night), then it's a terrible idea
(yeah, i'm doing a phd in this general area, so i'm paying more attention to this stuff than i probably should)
Precisely this. The only thing I would add is that a lot of the things that you're interested in learning can probably be gleaned by taking a look at your family's history - check out your relatives and note what they passed away from or what they are having to deal with as they've gotten older. If your great grandparents all died of heart attacks, you probably want to cut down on the salt and avoid smoking. Likewise, if they all died of one specific type of cancer, you may want to go in for testing earlier than usual. If you are worried about baldness, assuming you're male, look to your male relatives and your maternal grandmother. If they're all bald/balding, you may want to invest in some Rogaine.
The only time I'd see the gene screening being worthwhile is if you don't know anything about your family. And even then, I don't see how $500 could be anywhere near enough to give an accurate assessment. For all you know they could be spending the money on hot pockets and pot and sending you a carbon copy of some other persons legitimate (and more expensive) gene screening.