23andMe Health Data: What You Can Learn and What to Do With It

Find out what health data you can get from 23andMe, what you can do with it, and how to keep your DNA data private.

Updated: August 11, 2022

By purchasing a DNA test with 23andMe, you can learn new and surprising things about your health. In fact, you can get so much more than ancestry information from a simple saliva sample. However, many users don’t actually recognize the significance of all their DNA test results.

This article will document what you can learn from a 23andMe DNA test. It will also explain what action steps you can take to get the most benefits from your DNA test results.

Let’s get started!

23andMe Health Data: What Can You Learn?‍

Carrier Status Reports

Carrier status reports detail any genetic variants you carry which may contribute to genetic disorders. These variants, unlike others reported by 23andMe, can contribute directly to disease. In other words, these variants cause changes in your cells which can lead directly to the symptoms of a disease.

Many of these genetic disorders are recessive disorders. This means you need two copies (one from each parent) of disease-causing variants to have the disease. While you may exhibit no symptoms with one copy, you still have a 50% chance of passing the disorder-causing copy onto your children.

Here is a short list of the more common genetic diseases that 23andMe tests for:

• Cystic Fibrosis
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• Tay-Sachs Disease
• Hereditary Thrombophilia
• 40+ More!

Carrier status reports are one of the few actionable items found in 23andMe health data. For example, knowing your risks of carrying a genetic disorder means you and your partner can calculate the possibility of passing on a genetic disorder to your children.

Health Predisposition and Wellness Reports

While Carrier Status reports are very informative, 23andMe’s Health Predisposition reports are perhaps less helpful. These reports also measure genetic variants you carry. However, unlike the variants in the Carrier Status reports, these variants do not have a cause-and-effect relationship to disease. Instead, these reports document correlations between variants and certain diseases.

Unfortunately, these correlations are not as exact or robust as the ones found in Carrier Status reports.

This may be why 23andMe was once rebuked by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for over-marketing the importance of their tests. However, while they cannot predict whether or not you will get a disease, this type of report can help you make healthy choices to decrease your risk of certain diseases.

If you find you are at a higher risk and are concerned, you should seek a genetic counselor to help understand what actions you can take to reduce your risk. Below are a number of Health Predisposition and Wellness tests offered by 23andMe:

• Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
• Celiac Disease
• Breast Cancer
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Macular Degeneration
• Ovarian Cancer
• Hemochromatosis
• Lactose Intolerance
• Saturated Fat Metabolism and Weight
• Alcohol Flush Reaction
• And more!

While it’s good to know if you are at higher risk for these diseases, keep in mind that lifestyle factors like diet and exercise often have a bigger impact on your health than these genetic disease risks.

How to Protect your Health Data

In June 2021, 23andMe went public through a merger with SPAC (an investment company owned by Richard Branson). While this means 23andMe is now obligated to publicly share its revenue and earnings statements, it also means increasing pressure on the company to increase total revenue. While this includes further marketing of the company’s signature DNA test kits, it also means selling aggregate, depersonalized DNA data.

In 2018, for example, 23andMe announced a partnership with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline worth $300 million. As part of that deal, 23andMe agreed to share genetic data with the company. This likely includes genetic data from the millions of 23andMe customers who have used the company’s DNA test kit.

However, 23andMe does allow customers to opt-out of having their data aggregated and sold to researchers. To do so, you must read the fine-print carefully during your purchase and registration of a DNA testing kit.

Does 23andMe Provide Any Other Health Data?

While 23andMe only reports on a number of highly researched genetic variants, there is much more genetic research available. Most genetic testing companies allow you to download your raw data. By downloading your own genetic data, you can learn your genetic risk for a number of other conditions. Some of these have not been researched as well as Alzheimer’s or breast cancer, so you should not put too much weight on your results at this time. However, many of the companies listed below can test for health conditions or parts of your family history not covered by a 23andMe test.

Many of these DNA analysis resources are initially free to use and are worth checking out.

Know “More” About Your DNA Data

1. Genomelink — FREE

2. Promethease (genetic health risk)

Ancestry Tests

3. Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) — FREE

4. MyHeritage DNA — FREE

5. LivingDNA — FREE

6. GEDmatch — FREE

Nutrition and Fitness

7. Genopalate

To find out more, go to the updated list of uploading websites here!

Originally published at https://blog.genomelink.io.