I’ve thought about personal DNA tests for a while now. On one hand, I’m extremely curious to know everything that I can know about myself. I feel that not knowing might somehow have a negative impact. On the other hand, I feel that knowing too much might change my lifestyle too much.
One of the companies offering personal DNA tests is the San Diego company Pathway Genomics. For about $350, you can get a test that includes your health conditions, ancestry, carrier status, personal traits, and drug responses. You can view their full list of detectable conditions. You can also purchase individual tests, such as only your ancestry test for $200 and only your health test for $250.
A few examples of what is included in your DNA test results are:
- Health Conditions
- Alzheimer’s disease (early onset)
- Breast cancer
- Diabetes (Type 1 & 2)
- Lung cancer
- Melanoma
- Osteoarthritis
- Parkinson’s disease
- LifePath map (migratory path of ancestors back 10,000 to 150,000 years)
- Ethnic origins
- Haplogroup
- Alzheimer’s disease (early onset)
- Hearing loss (hereditary nonsyndromic)
- Sickle cell anemia
- Back Pain
- Baldness
- Bitter Taste Perception
- Food Preference
- Muscle Performance
- Antidepressant Response
- Caffeine Metabolism
It takes about two months to process your DNA which is submitted by mailing them some of your saliva. Your results are then posted to their secure web site so you can review the results.
I’m considering having my DNA tested, just to see if there’s anything that I should do now to help prevent complications when I get older. I’m starting to sway towards the argument that knowing is a bit better than not knowing, as long as I do something about any potential problems rather than just worry about it until it happens. I’d like to see the full package, currently $350, be priced a bit lower before I spend any money. I could probably see myself spending $200, but I think that $350 is a bit much for the test. Some insurance companies might cover the test, so I may have to look into the details of my health coverage.
In a couple of weeks, the San Diego Blogger’s Meet Up group will host an event sponsored by Pathway Genomics. At the event, the company will raffle off a free DNA Test. With some luck, I might win the raffle instead of having to purchase my personal DNA test :)
Shelly got one for free through her work. The results are the kind of thing you look at, make jokes about, and then completely forget about a few days later. Don’t waste your money.