DNA Test Results May Not Be As Reliable As They Appear

Just saw an article in the LA Times about how much you can trust new consumer DNA tests. The article highlights a recent experiment that compared the results of two of the leading vendors in this space, Navigenics and 23andMe. The experiment found that in some cases the two vendors conclusions about disease susceptibility was in agreement, but in others it was wildly different. The reason: each company uses different research studies to draw their conclusions. So, one might say that you have a 25% chance of developing Crohn's while the other says something higher. So although both companies do a great job of reading your DNA correctly, the determination of disease susceptibility is simply not a perfect science. In many cases, particularly those where definitive cause is unclear (like Crohn's), it's far from perfect and can generate very different results.