What DNA Tests Can Tell You About Your Health

Although doctors have been using DNA testing for many years, it was in 1995 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for medical purposes. DNA tests are now used in a variety of fields, including criminal investigations and ancestry testing.

DNA tests analyze a small sample of someone’s DNA to look for genetic differences related to several diseases. In many cases, test results will help doctors to predict and treat a patient’s risk of developing certain diseases. Additionally, other DNA tests can tell people about their genetic predisposition to a certain trait.

While many DNA tests have been used to tell people about their genetics, there’s a lot more that doctors can learn from their patients’ DNA samples. Doctors can look for signs of hereditary diseases, such as sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis. They can also look for indicators of poor health, such as a low sperm count or a low count of white blood cells in the blood.

DNA tests have been used to predict risks and to determine whether patients may benefit from certain treatments, as this may help doctors to provide better care.

In this article, we’ll discuss what DNA tests can tell you about your health.

1. Identify Hereditary Diseases

Doctors often use genetic testing as a tool to confirm a genetic disease diagnosis. According to the national institute of health, DNA testing is used to identify around 2000 hereditary diseases.

For a DNA test, the doctor collects a sample of the hair, skin, saliva or blood. The test looks for specific changes in the DNA that cause those genes not to work properly, thereby leading to disease.

One of the key advantages of a DNA test is that it enables doctors to diagnose the disease at a very early stage, before the symptoms can progress to significant levels. This helps patients to manage their condition and plan their treatment appropriately.

If a healthy person has no symptoms of a hereditary disease such as diabetes, a DNA test can help to analyze certain markers of that disease in their genetics that can predict whether a person is at risk of developing it or not. Here’s the best health dna kit for you to try.

2. Helps Determine Whether A Genetic Disorder Can Affect Your Unborn Child

Often, even healthy people have mutations in their DNA that are linked to several hereditary diseases. This means that you’re a carrier for the mutation, and have inherited a single copy of the gene for a particular hereditary disease. However, the mutation doesn’t affect the person or their health, since they still have a copy of the same gene that doesn’t have the mutation.

There’s a chance of passing on this mutation gene to your children. Thus, making them also carriers for that particular genetic disorder. Today, several fertility clinics offer DNA tests that can tell you whether you’re a carrier for genetic disorders.

Some of the most common genetic disorders detected in a carrier test are sickle cell anemia, Downs syndrome, and polycystic kidney disease.

3. Helps You Understand Genetic Predisposition To A Certain Trait

DNA testing like the SNP test can help to detect a person’s genome that is associated with different traits. By comparing the traits of your DNA with the DNA of another with similar traits, these tests infer which traits you’re likely to have. However, SNP tests do have their limitations.

Since these test for a limited number of common genetic variants, they may not be as accurate for someone from an under-represented population. Thus, SNP results are not considered to be a medical diagnosis.

However, these tests can give you an idea about certain possible traits, and help you to make certain positive lifestyle changes.

Conclusion

DNA Tests are becoming mainstream today. Though these tests are difficult to understand, they can give you an insight into your health. By getting a DNA test, you may be able to determine whether you’re a carrier for many genetic disorders, or if you’re likely to get any hereditary diseases. SNP tests can help you to determine certain traits about yourself, such as lactose intolerance or obesity.

However, before you consider DNA testing, it’s important to discuss it with your primary care doctor. It is often recommended for certain medical conditions that involve a family history of a particular disease. For genetic testing, it may be ideal to approach a doctor who specializes in these tests. Since there are several DNA tests available to test for different health risks, a reputable and experienced genetic counselor can guide you to the one that’s best suited to your needs.

Also, make sure that the labs you’re getting tested in are reputable and reliable, as some are more reliable than others. After the test, you may show the test results to your genetic counselor, who can explain the results to you and guide you in taking further action.