Tests could add little value beyond what consumers know
Risk factors like smoking, lack of exercise, hypertension, family history and age are usually the best predictors of various diseases, Australian researchers said in recent comments in PLoS Medicine, warning that people should be careful about genetic tests that say they can predict various diseases. This comes just as consumers are facing more ads for genetic tests that promise to help them. While some facilities with trained clinical geneticists can interpret, and give advice and counseling, basted on these tests, companies will sometimes simply hand over results. Lead author Wayne Hall warned it’s “not information you can act on,” Reuters reports.