A growing number of [home genetic-testing] kits (brands such as 23andMe, DNAFit, Thriva, MyHeritage DNA, and Orig3n) promise to unlock the mystery of your genomes…[But] what’s it all for? Some individuals…have the kind of family histories that give them good reason to be concerned about their health, though…those people might be better off consulting doctors in the normal way.
Otherwise, the home-testing kits could be said to fit in with our increasingly health-conscious and…narcissistic times. What says you’re “special” more than finding out everything about yourself, right down to the nitty-gritty of genetics? In this way, these kits could be viewed as the latest plaything of the “worried well”.
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According to Margaret McCartney, GP, and author of The Patient Paradox, there’s a fundamental problem with home genetic-testing kits per se.
“My concern is that more and more of these tests are being put out, and people…get results back that are very often of very low value and dubious helpfulness,” she says. “And often people are told to go to see their GP…The companies make their profits and walk away, letting the NHS sort out all the fallout….”
In McCartney’s view, enough testing is already done in this country…[and] “there’s no evidence that says doing these tests makes people become healthier.”
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: What I learned from home DNA testing
