Learn valuable health & ancestry information.
Knowing your health risks will help you and Dr. Marshall figure our health areas to keep an eye on. Personalize your healthcare by knowing in advance how you will respond to certain medications and other treatments. Learning your genetic risk for various diseases and conditions will allow you and your doctor to focus on the lifestyle changes and preventative steps that matter most for you.
Why should you know your genetic risk?
- Make better lifestyle choices.
On average, one person in five develops diabetes by age 79. Variations in your DNA tested for by 23andMe might raise your risk to one in three, making your lifestyle choices on factors like exercise and weight control even more critical.
- Be on the lookout for common conditions.
Age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss in the Western world among people over 60. By learning if your genes put you at increased risk for this condition, you can choose to go in for more frequent eye exams and take other measures to protect your sight.
- Prepare for serious disease.
Some inherited mutations greatly increase your likelihood of developing certain diseases later in life. For example, one rare mutation tested by 23andMe is associated with a nearly 60% lifetime risk of Parkinson’s disease.
- Personalize your medication with your doctor.
Knowledge about variations in your DNA can help your doctor determine if you need more or less of a medication, or whether you might be at increased risk for certain side effects.
- Your DNA can impact how effective drugs will be.
Clopidogrel (Plavix®) helps prevent heart attacks by keeping blood cells from sticking together. But a genetic variation that interferes with the drug’s metabolism prevents some people from getting the full effect.
- Genetics can determine if you’ll have side effects.
Two genetic variations can increase the chances of experiencing severe muscular pain and weakness when taking high doses of cholesterol-lowering statins.