Ready to Test Your DNA: How To Choose A Genetic Testing Company

By ⋅ March 22, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Can you trust a direct-to-consumer genetic test?

There are currently many genetic tests offered directly to consumers, ranging from relatively simple tests of ancestry to much more complicated predictions of disease risk and drug responses. In an industry as complex as this one, it can be difficult for consumers to decide which companies they can trust.

In the course of writing about the genetic testing industry I’ve taken tests from four different companies, with a fairly wide range of quality, and made my data publicly available. My background in genetics makes it easier for me to make sense of some of the results, but you certainly don’t need to have a PhD to separate the science from the snake oil. Here are a few useful rules of thumb that you can follow both before and after purchasing a test.

Do some background reading


Apply the same common sense approach you would for any major purchasing decision: Google the name of the company and look for positive and negative reviews. Keep an eye out for reports from consumer watchdog agencies, or blog posts by experts who are critical of the company’s accuracy. Don’t believe every critical review you read, but if there’s an overall picture of negativity, look elsewhere.

Check the company’s website


As an initial filter, look at the company’s website for the signs of dodginess you’d expect from any fly-by-night online scam. Poor grammar and web design, dubious customer testimonials, and offers to sell you nutritional supplements based on your genetic data are all strong predictors of shoddy genetic tests.

A legitimate company should provide you with a demonstration account illustrating the type of information you would receive as a customer, giving enough context for you to understand the results, as well as extensive links to other resources. Lists of the actual genetic variants tested should be easily available, along with clear references to the original research papers supporting the company’s claims.

It’s your genome


Check to make sure the company allows you to download your raw genotype data after the test has been done. It’s your genome, and you have a right to get access to this information. In addition, having access to the raw data will make it easier for you to double-check the company’s accuracy and interpretation. If a company doesn’t provide an easy way to download your raw data, find another provider.

Engage with your data


After purchasing a test, make sure you actively explore your results: dig deep, read as much as you can, and ask questions about anything that doesn’t make sense to you. There are plenty of online forums devoted to personal genomics and genetic ancestry and genealogy. Of course, like any online forum, you shouldn’t believe everything you read!

Right now the data provided by personal genomics companies isn’t profoundly useful from a health perspective for most of us, so should treat this process first and foremost as a learning experience. You’ll learn the most if you approach your own genome with a skeptical eye, searching for inconsistencies and surprising results and then tracking down their origins. This process may also alert you to errors in your data or its interpretation, as journalist Peter Aldhous has illustrated.

If alarmed, consult an expert


If you find something you think is truly worrying, follow up with an independent expert (a doctor or genetic counselor for health-related matters) to have the results confirmed and put in context before making any life-changing decisions. Direct-to-consumer tests aren’t clinical tests (and aren’t labeled as such); you should treat them as providing you with information, not definitive answers, and certainly not diagnoses.

However, be aware that most doctors are ill-prepared to deal with the types of complex information provided by a genome scan, so make the process as easy for them as possible. Most reputable companies will provide a simplified print-out of results you can present to a clinician.

Daniel MacArthur is a research geneticist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He writes about genetic testing at Genomes Unzipped.

Discussion

11 comments for “Ready to Test Your DNA: How To Choose A Genetic Testing Company”

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dna-Lady/1439988587 Dna Lady

     Chose a private DNA collector, not affiliated with any insurance company and/or any state system.  Your DNA is extremely private information and should only be seen/handled by you and whomever you elect – no doctors, no nurses, no state funded systems who will later on gather info and allow it to be sold to third party interests who will jack up insurance premiums or worse yet – discriminate against someone with a predisposition to a genetic disease.  Most importantly predisposition to a genetic disease does not necessarily mean you will get the disease.

  • CeCe Moore

    Very good advice, Daniel. I hope your readers will follow it.
    CeCe Moore
    http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com

  • Prairiedogman

    As the author has used four different labs, I was hoping that he would offer recommendations on the best labs to use for personal testing.

  • Prairiedogman

    To the author:  was one of the labs that you used “Navigenics”?  If so, how would you rate them as compared to the other three?

  • cimhoof

    So, can someone help us with some company names to research???  Especially a private one, please.  Although the article and comments are helpful, why not actually give out this information?

  • CarolZall

    I’ll throw my two cents in, in answer to cimhoof. I used 23andMe and have been happy with the service, and I know a lot of geneticists who have also had testing done with them. I think a lot of people use Family Tree DNA too, and have been happy with their service.

  • Daniel MacArthur

    Hi cimhoof,

    I didn’t name companies in the article because it depends entirely what you’re interested in. If you’re after a holistic view of your genetic data, 23andMe is worth checking out – they do a pretty good job of communicating many different forms of genetic information. If you’re interested in a genetic view of your family history or ancestry, you should email CeCe Moore (see email address above), as she has far more expertise in this area than I do. If you have lots of money to spend, then Knome will sell you a complete genome sequence for a few thousand dollars. If you have very specific questions you’d like to answer then there may be another company that’s better suited – it depends entirely on the question.

    Prairiedogman,

    I haven’t used Navigenics personally, but I’ve been following the company for a long time. You should investigate and come to your own decision, but my view is that they tend to provide a far more limited perspective than (say) 23andMe, and they’re also more expensive. I can’t think of any particular reason why you’d choose them over 23andMe.

  • Arlene Vieira

    Can you recommend any companies that do DNA testing in the Caribbean.  I live in Trinidad and Tobago and 23andMe does not ship to our country

  • Daniel MacArthur

    Hi Arlene,

    Unfortunately I don’t know any companies operating in that area – but it might be worth sending 23andMe an email to see if you can sort something out with them.

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