Here's another fun one. A friend did 3 tests. Here's why. They sent the first one in, expecting something that matched the genealogy tree/research one of their relatives was heavy into for the family. It did not match. The resemblance in parentage was was pretty intense, so they weren't thinking that (looked just like their dad). So, the friend sent it in again. Same results? No. Completely different results including heavy Pacific Islander which is not anywhere, visible anyway, in the family. At this percentage, we'd expect some visibility. So they sent in for a third test with a complaint. The company responding asking what were you expecting. They told the company. The next test was again different than the first two but in line with the stated expectations, sans Pacific Islander. How would you interpret that experience? Medical aspects aside.
A company relying on bad science with subpar labs did a test on fucked it up multiple times... that's how i would interpret that experience... their focus was never on finding someones ancestry which already relies on bad science or give anyone health advice... their focus was having as much data on someone as possible to sell it to anyone with a wallet
Which company was this? I've done Ancestry (in the UK, can't speak for other countries testing) and have found it very interesting. Everyone who was supposed to come up as a match actually came up and I've had no inconsistencies, that's been the same case for my partner and some other families members.
As a bit of a genealogy nerd and someone who previously worked in the genetics field I would say this. First off the result of one test should match the result of a subsequent test. Obviously. However, a company's estimate of a person's ethnicity will shift over time. The reason for this is that the estimate is based on research. To somewhat over-simplify it they look at particular SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) which are single letter variations in a person's DNA. Specifically they look at single letter locations in the human genome that are known to vary based on geographic origin (most of our DNA is identical to each other so there's little point looking at all of it as that would significantly increase the cost). Now, how do they know what geographic location an SNP corresponds to? They look at all the people who have the variation and where they are located. The location with the highest concentration will likely be where that variation first arose. They may also look at actual scientific research papers into specific SNPs. At best it's an educated guess. And you could have the same variation arise more than once in different locations. So at a certain point in time a company might think that a particular variation corresponds to one location only to later realise that is actually corresponds to a different location, or maybe even multiple locations. As for getting a result for a particular location and a person not resembling people from that location, it's important to understand that most genes don't affect what a person looks like. For example, someone could have 30% sub-Saharan African ancestry but look stereotypically European. They probably won't. But they could. I did a test with Ancestry and it currently says that I have around 1% DNA from the Baltic region. But that 1% was not there when I first did the test and its location has shifted around over the last five years. Originally it didn't show up, then it was central and eastern Europe generally, and now it's listed as Baltic. I uploaded my raw data to another company and paid them a small fee to have them analyse it and they say that I have 4% central European DNA. Why the difference? Because they're working with different research and data sets. So it's only ever an estimate. One company says I have 49% Irish DNA while the other says it's 75%. That's a pretty big difference. But it's because they are working with different research and data sets. The bigger the data set the more likely it is to be more accurate. Ancestry has a larger market share than the other company meaning they're working with a larger data set which means theirs is more likely to be more accurate. But it's still an estimate. Another important thing that many people don't realise is that DNA is not inherited equally from all your ancestors. While it's true that you get half your chromosomes, and therefore half your DNA, from your mother and half from your father (there is an exception to that when it comes to the sex chromosomes but I'll ignore that here because many of the basic ancestral DNA tests don't look at those chromosomes), you do not inherit 25% of your DNA from each grandparent (or 12.5% from each great-grandparent). Chromosomes recombine during gamete formation so you will get more DNA from one of your mother's parents than from the other one (and the same for your father). Often people expect to find certain ethic ancestry in their results and don't. Sometime it's because it's simply not there. But other times it's because they just didn't inherit any DNA from that person (or they did but it consists of the DNA that we all share so there's no way of knowing who it came from). So if someone knows for certain that they have Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, for example, and it doesn't show up that is not conclusive proof that they are wrong about their ancestry. It may just be too far back that they inherited none of it or what they did inherit is the DNA that is shared by everyone. All of that said, different tests with the same company all done within a short period of time should yield the same result (unless their data set has been significantly updated between tests). One way to know if the company has completely botched the test would be to look at what relatives the test matches you against. My Ancestry test has matched me to around 200 people that I know from research I am related to. So I know they didn't botch it or mixed it up with someone else's test. If someone is seriously interested in finding out what their ancestry is I would recommend using a DNA test in conjunction with genealogical research. But know that records only go back so far. For example, for me to find out where the alleged 1% Baltic DNA came from I'd have to go back 6 to 7 generations assuming equal inheritance of DNA (I'd be looking for a 4th or 5th great-grandparent). That would place it in the mid to late 1700's. I've been able to determine which branch that DNA comes from by looking at which of my relatives also show Baltic DNA and determining our common ancestors. In that branch I know who all of my 4th great-grandparents were and who some of my 5th great-grandparents were, but not all of them. It's a work in progress and it could actually be further back than that. Also, infidelity, "illegitimate" births, and men knowingly taking responsibility for other men's children are all things that happen. So just because a man is recorded as a child's father it doesn't mean he was. So sometimes you will not be able to find out where a small percentage of DNA actually came from. If you are going to do genealogical research my best advice is do not trust anyone else's research. Do your own. A lot of people are sloppy with it and just accept anything that looks interesting without verifying whether the records are even for the right person. The sad truth is that you're probably not related to royalty or anyone famous. Your ancestors were probably all peasants. Because nearly every human being on the planet were peasants or similar at one point in time. I am curious which company those tests were done by?
More importantly, people need to realize that THEY are the real product these companies are selling. Selling to insurance companies, cops, any who knows who else.
To be honest not even that is completely accurate. They can get an idea of your genes but to get an exact % is definitely them making that up. Nothing in genetic technology is that accurate.
Such a business model isnt quite sustainable, it's very natural for them to venture out. And as a layman, it's quite easy to link genetic test with health, and I bet they felt the same and ventured out in this direction
Love this video. In a cardiovascular genetic counselor in NYC and I have noticed that these tests lead to so much confusion and misinformation about risk for complex diseases. They can be fun but definitely cannot replace medical genetic testing
Dangit. I was hoping this could be a cheaper option for me. I had a PT ask if I had EDS, but I've never had the genetic test, and insurance won't cover it.
More information needs to be given to people that nothing not even certified medical diagnosis is going to always be 100% accurate. Nothing in this world is guaranteed so take everything you hear with skepticism (but not cynicism) and use critical thinking to really analyse a situation.
My aunt took a commercial genetics test because of family history of autoimmunity. The results came back with 11 different pathogenic alleles, 5 of which were dominant, but she had no symptoms of any of the dominant alleles she allegedly had. I warned her the commercial genetics tests were not up to snuff, so she went to an actual genetic counselor who tested multiple members of the family and found no pathogenic alleles except for one which increases risk for autoimmunity.
My Grandma did an ancestry test and it was by a company that doesn’t offer medical advice, it just told her what countries our family originated from, that’s it.
The fear is what data they actually collected (beyond what they told you) and who has and will have access to it. If your grandma’s DNA is accessible to law enforcement for instance, you can be incriminated if your DNA is present at a crime scene. It just opens up so many avenues for falsely incriminating or target you for medical/health scams. Knowing what people are or will die from is a very powerful tool of manipulation. And one person’s data breach exposes an entire family. There are probably more consequences to be seen as well. The more extreme “thinkers” worry about forced sterilization programs with these type of data for instance
Thank you for covering this! When I did one of these tests 10 years ago to find out my ancestry, I deleted my information once I received my results. Many people do these for fun but don’t take proper precautions and forget about it. If only companies were consumer-friendly. I wish every doctor was like Dr. Mike! Thank you for sticking to your values and refusing to promote unethical products!♥️
Amazing video! I'm a geneticist and I have been sharing these concerns for years. I've also corrected friends and family on their interpretation of their results. Most of the confusion comes from the lack of information from the companies, but a lot of it is due to poor general science literacy.
the apps explain very thoroughly that none of it is an accurate predictor because of the huge margins or error. there’s even multiple detailed reviews you must complete before even seeing your result. so it truly is just terrible science literacy. gotta remember most people barely passed those classes in school
Don't use her real name and don't opt in for dna relatives and she should be fine. The info is nice and you can download the raw data to check the individual genes (to see what variants you have)
I took a DNA test in 2021. I didn't do it for any medical advice as if I wanted any of that info, I'd talk to my doctor first. I took a Ancestry DNA test. I wanted to find out about my grandfathers family as he was illegitimate so no father was mentioned on his birth certificate. He died before I was born so I never got to meet him. None of my dads family knew much about my grandfathers family either, so I wanted to find out who his family was and I thought taking an Ancestry DNA test would be the best way of doing it. While I was a little concerned about the privacy, I have ended up learning so much about my ancestors that I never knew before. I have got in contact with lots of closer and slightly distant relatives I never knew I had as well and been able to prove we are related through documented evidence, so it defiantly helped on that regard.
Thank you for this comment. I was adopted by my great uncle and aunt but never met my bio dad or anyone on his side because he died before I could. I've always wanted to do a dna test so I could find out a little more about his side and even see how much of my dna matches with my adoptive dad too
I think ancestry is fun for the family history side ( that's why we did ours, and it did really help with knowing which countries to start searching in because we had little records for the one side of my family ) but I definitely know people who found out that the "neighbors" actually were half siblings and another who found half siblings in another state. Crazy world...
@@Kal93baby I have noticed quite a few of my DNA matches say on their profiles that they were adopted and looking for family, so its a good way of potentially finding who your family are. For me, I haven't yet found that much info to find my grandfathers family. I was able to find out the person listed as present at the birth of my grandfather, he was living with her and her husband until he married my grandmother, so he might have been adopted by them. I also found her maiden name matched the surname of my grandfathers mother listed on his birth certificate, so they were probably related. I am still trying to find who she was. I was also able to find who my grandfathers only sibling, my great-uncle was as I found his birth certificate. The person it said was present at his birth, I got a 4th cousin DNA match to a direct descendant of hers so that helped, especially knowing her maiden name and finding a number of DNA matches with either that same surname or they have trees with direct ancestors with the same surname. I still keep hitting brick walls but it was a useful step in the right direction.
I did this. They came back with some info on medical that was wrong. They said I wouldn't develop it, and I already had the health issue. Two in fact. I wasn't there to find out medical. I wanted to know where I came from. Being adopted there is no info about what you background is. This was the closest thing I could do for my children.
Same, also adopted: I had zero clue of a family history. I've had Dr's dismiss health concerns because "you don't have a family history of that, so it's unlikely, we don't need to test for that" and insurance was the same way. I don't have a family history of anything! I did it trying to get a "baseline", and maybe connect with a relative that know, not as a 100% accurate .
Adoption is a great reason for these to exist... one of my friends was adopted and found out that their best friend (younger, lived in the same neighborhood and also adopted but younger by about 2 years) was actually their full-blooded sibling- mom AND dad. Absolutely bonkers, as they were adopted from out of the country! the odds of ending up as neighbors half a world away from where they were born...we are still shocked.
I took 23 and me for health insights since I found out my paternal grandma had Parkinson's. So I learned that I'm super white, my eyes will go bad(der) and that my mom had a half sister she went 60+ years without knowing about and we got to connect with that half sister's children (she passed away a year prior) and it was one of the most wholesome, uplifting, amazing things that's ever happened in my extended family. My mom loves spending time with her new nephews and nieces and they were so happy to finally fulfil their mom's life long wish of finding the family she never got to know. So I mean, some good came out of the $200 my mom spent on me for my birthday that year.
I did Ancestry to find both sides of my family, I was born in 1977 and put in the NY system in 78. Was able to find both sides in 2017-2018, but never paid attention to health stuff and I don't really care about the privacy side either for myself. Finding and connecting with family I was searching for since I was 18 is worth just about anything for me. This is just my story of course and I didn't use 23&me, so just my 2 cents...
Something else scummy Dr. Mike didn't mention: If that's 23andMe's actual website at 7:54, notice how their graphical user interface (GUI) is designed (very likely purposefully) to be confusing regarding opting in or out of consent for sharing. When you're opted-in to sharing your personal data (the default), the button is grey, and says "Opt Out", while clicking the button TO opt out makes it highlighted and say "Opt In". While, I'm sure the company would argue, this is because you click the button to Opt Out, therefore the button says what you're doing if you click it, I can guarantee you many people were confused by the GUI due to being opted in showing as greyed out and saying "Opt Out", as if indicating "Opt Out" is your current setting and sharing your personal data is "turned off", while being opted out by clicking the button makes the button display "Opt In" and light up, as if to indicate you now ARE opted in, and sharing your personal data is "turned on".
The US health insurance system is the reason US doctors make almost $100,000 more per year than Canadian and UK doctors, so.... don't hold your breath for him to bite the hand that feeds him.
If I was worried about a possible genetic disease, my first step should absolutely be talking to a doctor, not buying a test kit. However, as someone without insurance, it's functionally impossible for me to see a geneticist, so I could see other people in my situation spending a few bucks for one of these at-home DNA testing kits. It sucks, but this industry was only able to blow up like this because the American healthcare system makes obtaining care expensive, burdensome, or impossible.
@@clearhaven Accuracy 100% matters here. Those companies have literally had privacy breaches and are completely misleading their consumers. The accuracy matters because after you take this test, you might get a result that says “High Risk” for Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer just because ONE person along your family line had it, without taking into account your lifestyle. These tests are not done by genetic specialists. They do not understand the coding and extensive history that actually goes into genetics such as: hereditary, health factors, and patient history. In conclusion, this is NOT reliable at all, this is dangerous and a stupid, desperate attempt to monetize people’s health further for the sake of their company. Maybe watch the video before commenting and you would understand that. Edited for grammatical purposes.
Excited for the video I could see how Home Genetic Tests can go awfully wrong. Imagine trying to live a calm and normal life, knowing you have a higher risk for Alzheimer's ...
Knowing that you have a higher risk should make it a priority for you to make changes in your lifestyle to reduce your risk. How is that not helpful to you??
@@k.larson4682The problem is that these tests don’t come with the medical guidance a medical genetic test or counselling would be coupled with. Is it a significant enough increase in risk that I should make lifestyle changes? What lifestyle changes should I make? Does this change screenings I should take? Does it make actual sense for me to worry about it?
@@k.larson4682 Did you watch the video? Dr.Mike just said there is no action you can take with that result. If your genetically gonna get it, it's hard-coded. No lifestyle change can alter your DNA.
@@k.larson4682Having a healthy lifestyle will reduce your risk of developing many diseases. So you should try to have a healthy lifestyle regardless of your genes. But for something like Alzheimer's, there's no single proven cause and there's no cure - so you'll just be left with health anxiety for the rest of your life and no way to take meaningful action if you find out you're at higher risk.
I’ve always been on a fence about these/ I was close to buying a few times but never did. I appreciate you doing the research and putting out the information for us.
Won't give out an email address anymore and people out here handing over their biological make-up forever for a quick answer you have no real way to know if it's true.
I’m a pre-med student and was really interested in DNA. Last year I decided to get an ancestry test out of pure curiosity. It revealed that my parents weren’t biologically related to me and allowed me to know more about where I come from and contact my bio mother. My ancestry test did not involve many health insights but it did reveal parts of my life that I am very grateful for. I think ancestry is great for finding your origins as long as you aren’t looking for definitive health insights, or any health insights at all.
Yeah Dr. Mike. THIS is why I refused to take one of these "23&Me" tests that I had gotten for my birthday once recently (a few years back.) Otherwise tho I have had other full "Genomic" testing done for other real "research" reasons at a University with an actual Geneticist... Given those results and your own experiences that you bring up here in the video are among the reasons that I have continued my stance against this type of BS...
I did one through my psychiatrist! I’ve used over 10 psych meds in my lifetime. Zoloft (what I’m on now) is the only thing that works well with me that I’ve tried and genetically it’s true too. My psych had me start L-methylfolate to help me and now I need to schedule blood work because my iron is going to need to be lowered or discontinued because of how the supplements been fixing up some loose ends in my gut 😂
It's pretty accurate for me at least. Lots of meds that I wouldn't do well with were meds that failed or made me get psychosis cause they were so awful.
From what my psych said that it tells a person which medications are metabolized best, so in theory, should work best for the person. It's still a trial and error though. I've never taken this test, but know other people who have and it's about 50/50 whether, the medication that's supposed to work, really works or not. My psych said that the science needed to accurately test which medications would really work is not advanced enough yet.
@ yeah 1 that didn’t work for me was pristiq, I had issues with fatigue when taking it even tho it wasn’t a regular side effect. But for the most part I don’t metabolize things well because of one thing but pristiq didn’t have it so I was like “that’s odd” but hey you win some you lose some.
I wasn't expecting a video about online genetic testing, really graceful with you doing that. I would suggest a video about telemedicine and online therapy...
I also remember when Dr Mike did a short on black plastics where they could reach the hazardous levels of fire retardant consumption. But the study researchers made a critical maths error of 70x600 = 4200 instead of 42000
Dr Mike, can you talk about the BRCA gene mutations? The BRCA 1 gene mutation runs in my family. I had 50% chance of having it, and as a female getting those news last year at only 17, it was really scary. Luckily, though they usually don’t do genetic testing until you’re 18 here in Norway, since I was so close to that age and because the doctors viewed this as urgent enough, I did the genetic testing and found out the results of the tests were negative. Other than knowing if I had the mutation I would have a much larger percentage chance of getting specific kinds of cancers, and would have to do breast cancer screenings from an earlier age and possibly also need surgeries, I don’t know much about this gene mutation. A video on the BRCA mutations and even other information on genes would be really interesting. Love your videos🥰
@@clearhaven I know there is information out there, but he make videos about medical stuff so I just came with a suggestion. Plus he is someone I trust to give correct info
@selmahoiseth sadly, USA 💔 they barely care abt minors but once you're 18 here there's nothing for help. I need to drive 3 hours to a specialty hospital just to get the basic testing for EDS. I wish they did it the way Norway does it, makes more sense to do it in early adulthood.
This is so frustrating! I really wanted to use one of these to try and find out about my anonymous egg donor, but naturally corporate greed just HAD to get in the way.
I have 23 and me and mever paid attention to the health really. I always thought some was interesting but never serious. I always liked their ancestry part and felt they should have stuck with that. I dont regret taking it, it has shown me relaitves i didnt know and help make bridges.
It's pretty disheartening when you realize that over half of the biotech industry is really just playing pretend to secure investor funding. People without the fundamental skills to analyze data and read/understand privacy policies have to rely on other people who can, like Doctor Mike! You're doing a good thing
Being told through email that I have an elevated risk of developing an incurable disease is my idea of a good time! The idea that the health report is “just for fun” is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. This is kind of like randomly giving people full body CT scans, there’s a reason that we don’t go looking for problems like that. If the test just said things you don’t need to worry about then maybe that could be useful.
I did a health oriented genetics test from an EU company a couple of years back, and personally I'm glad I did. I know I have to take everything with a grain of salt, however when I did the testing a lot of results popped up which really well aligned with my and my own family's experiences, it explained quite a bit. From this info, it further reaffirms to me what I had my doubts on, and therefore the next step would be to go to a doctor to get proper confirmation, or already start implementing life changes and see if things get better.
Years ago when they were sponsoring all sorts of content creators on YT, I joked about what if they got breached and had the users most sensitive data stolen. Well, that aged like milk. Actually the joke was going to age like milk either way, but I would argue that the better ending should be there is no data leak.
Even for necessary genetic testing for medical purposes, I always warn patients about the possibility of their data being used at some point by an insurance company to discriminate against them. Even though the GINA law is still in effect overall, and the ACA is still in effect for health insurance, if that information gets out a life insurance company could potentially decide not to cover somebody or rescind a policy, or an employer could choose not to hire somebody, or find an excuse to fire them before they become expensive to the company. And although medical insurance companies cannot currently refuse coverage based on medical history, if the Republicans destroy the ACA like they have been threatening to, that protection goes away as well. And sending your DNA to a for-profit company that may or may not guard the information, is definitely something to think very carefully about before doing .
I love you Dr. Mike! I'm always so excited when you make a video. However, can you please make concise versions of your Wednesday checkup. They are so interesting, but it is hard to watch the whole video.
Another thing that really worries me about these dna tests: I’m a historian, and I’ve been noticing for a while now a worrying trend of people putting way to much emphasis on things like genetics and dna when it comes to topics relating to different cultures and cultural appropriation. The way I’ve heard some people talking about these things, it’s honestly reminding me quite a bit of the pseudoscientific (once considered to be a legit form of science) field of Racial Biology, aka the idea that humanity can be divided into different “races” the way that say dogs can, and that different races carry different genetic traits that make them look and behave a certain way, (and that they should therefore be kept separate) and that really worries me. There is no such thing as one gene that corresponds directly to a specific ethnic group or culture, but the way these tests present their results they almost make it look like there is! And I worry that it might lead people to think that humans are a lot more genetically, and as an extension of that more culturally, segregated than we actually are, and that people might start thinking that cultural sharing and appreciation is something wrong and abnormal, rather than a completely normal part of ALL human cultures that we have been practicing and doing for thousands of years!
I'm so glad you did this video. I have a friend who diagnosed herself with a connective tissue disorder by using this. I really appreciate your research so much. I do, too, and try to get my friends and family to do the same.
Perhaps in future include the possible ways how companies use the bought/leaked data and how it affects us in daily basis in a bad way. Otherwise the average person does not understand impact
Thanks for the information Dr. Mike. And as for the sponsor, would appreciate if you didn't imply that the discount would actually make significant difference compared the value you said (In this case, it could be miscontrued that the subscription would cost me a bit more less than 5 dollars when in fact it's just 4.17). As someone living in a third world country, 4.17 is a lot for news you can access for free anyway. But still it looks like a good news source given a trustable figure like you is vying for it. I am gonna give it a shot coz I really needed a good news aggregator, but I am afraid I won't be boosting your discount numbers.
I used Circle DNA, which was entirely medically focused with barely any ancestry focus. I didn't know it was an option for me to talk to an actual geneticist. That seems like a really good follow-up. Thanks.
Question - can disability or long-term care companies discriminate potentially for Medically obtained genetic testing gotten through a genetic counselor ? (Like not just something like 23&me) Like does that genetic testing stay private between you and your provider? 0:01
as someone who worked at a company that developed the equipment that performs the DNA sequencing.. speed to market has become way more important than accuracy of results.. as someone who spoke out about it too much i got let go in a round of layoffs what a surprise
I was adopted at birth and did 23&me a few years ago thinking it might help me either find relatives or family medical history/risks (the older I get the more I realize how much it sucks that I don't know my family's medical history and if I'm at risk for anything). Unfortunately I did not find out anything relevant on either relatives or medical stuff so it has largely felt like a waste of money. Had no idea the company was doing that badly though. Thank you for the informative video!
TH-cam sponsors getting scandals is becoming common. Remember that noble title bs? How about Better Help? Skillshare? Years from now we will probably learn a lot of problems about Ground News. Raid Shadow Legends might be imune because nobody can reasonably believe the hype and claims on their ads, we already know their ads are bs.
Also hello fresh is very expensive compared to buying your own groceries, and hard to cancel At this point I have a sort of mental blacklist of companies whose advertising budget seems a bit too big to be reasonable
Personally, what I don't understand and what makes me not care about my personal information is... what is someone going to do with my genetic information? Same with the government having cameras and scanning my face. I don't care? The answer is probably that I am a white privileged individual and that's why I don't see the issue for myself. If anyone has anything to tell me, please!!! I am all ears. ❤
I don't know if this is just an us thing but my wife and I saw things like this gene is shown in other people that don't taste cilantro(coriander) as soap or you might be more likely to like dark chocolate according to what people report. We got the medical stuff but we know this is new science and they don't have answers for more than some basics. This was too gather information not give you concrete answers. Maybe the wording changed as time went on but really for us what was fun was finding out we have certain stuff in our background. My wife's mom loved hearing all about ancestry and made our last visits with her in her right mind so special. I have her laugh saved when my wife is ready to hear it again.
You should do a reaction video to the Bondi beach Lifeguards. Bondi Beach is in Australia, and I think the lifeguards are really do their job really well. They deal with dislocation of the shoulders, spinal injuries, etc.
My family got those tests for christmas last year. Im the only one who didnt use mine yet. We just got it for ancestry. I never cared for the health history because I already know everything I need of my recent health from my recent family.
Thanks Dr Mike. As an adopted person I was just starting to think about using 23 and me to get health info, and then the story about the breach came out. I'm going to keep my spit to myself :)
Literally we can watch GREY'S ANATOMY as a show but can't watch Truth Or Scare as a real reality show on maybe ott or radios or tv....WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR PERSPECTIVE
My DNA test may have saved my life! I used Ancestry DNA, which has a ton of great non-medical features. So, UCSF and Stanford could not find the cause of my strange neurological symptoms. They pushed me off to neuropsychiatry who found no psychogenic cause. I remained undiagnosed for nearly a decade. Then I uploaded my ancestry DNA raw data to Promethease. In an instant, I discovered a genetic condition with potentially life-threatening effects that explained my symptoms. The DNA analyses costs $100. My doctors' visits cost tens of thousands.
Very important information thanks ☺️ when i was saw find out the ancestors i was fascinated about that thing .but now i got a very interesting information from you
i’ve been little to no contact with one side of my family for basically my entire life. This makes stuff like that really interesting because I don’t know much about my ancestry or genetic predisposition. It’s always been tempting but stuff like that reminds me that this isn’t a good idea
Yeah, I'm also against commercial genetic testing for the same reasons you are. However, I'd also note that the privacy issues are not just about your individual data but that also impacts privacy of people who are related to you. If you consent but your identical twin does not consent, all their data will still be there because it is identical. And that data can be used to make guesses about your parents, other siblings and so on. Once it's out there, you can't change your genes. I think the risks are very high, privacy is not limited to the individual and most people are not prepared to understand the limitations of the information they are given. I would strongly suggest only doing genetic testing when it's suggested and performed by medical practitioners.
Genetic tests should not be done alone at home. People should consult an doctor about stuff like this,it's useless to use a little thing that takes your blood/info, just to say you and your family have ancestors, that don't even relate to you, even if you do, it could still lead to confusion.
Years ago, I used CRI Genetics for my ancestry DNA test. It really seemed to focus on my ancestry moreso than the other stuff. Curious to know if you'd feel the same way about that company, Doctor Mike
Been doing Ancestry for a while now, and it is only helpful for those who want more history on their family tree, or would like to keep climbing their family tree. I’ve been able to find a ton of stuff like censuses, military records, death and birth certificates, etc. that not only show how these people are connected to my family, but it can sometimes share what happened throughout their lives. My doctors have taken a few records from someone directly related 5 generations above me that showed a death from a miscarriage due to an internal hemorrhage in 1890 at 36 y/o, along with her 3rd child which she was pregnant with.
I specialized in genetic mutations and never took those DNA tests, the issue is several factors. For one they only test a small piece of your genetic code which is not a full picture. Secondly they compare your DNA with other broad groups from modern DNA they have in which won't be accurate. Generally people think they are "30% Irish, 50% Brazilian" etc. However that's not how that works, your DNA takes roughly half the DNA from each parent and disregards the rest leaving behind factors from other lineages, so your great ancestors might of had wildly different DNA You also have to consider factors like convergent evolution, in the same way a gray fox is felion and a red fox is canine but both are foxes. They had both evolved in different paths but came to very similar genetics results in the end, so this could be very misleading as to your lineage I could also go on about how mutations work, especially recessive and how it takes 2 generations to pass down, so some of your ancestors may or may not of had mutations and gone So that's just a few small examples let alone the violation of your privacy that's been happening
@DoctorMike should have Chris Hemsworth on the podcast to talk about his Alzheimers dz risk findings. Maybe there is more to it....or nothing to it, given the surface level info doesn't really tell people if they will actually get Alzheimers dz.
Hey Dr. Mike! We’ve taken the Nutrition Genome test, and are unsure whether you feel is legitimate or not. It seems pretty solid from what we’ve been told and what we can tell
1:45 why does knowing your risk chance bad? or inactionable and causing anxiety? does knowing that statistically you're more likely to die driving than flying make you more anxious to drive? doesn't recognizing that driving can be dangerous make you more cautious? there's plenty of people completely unaware and are reckless. so knowing the dangers would make you a better driver. just like, knowing you're at a higher risk of Alzheimer's should make you more aware of the possibilities and hopefully any symptoms can be recognized early. you don't have to live in anxiety over it. just be aware of the possibility.
Catching Alzheimer's early doesn't really help when it comes to treatment. You might be able to slow its progression slightly, but there's no cure or good treatment options. For the majority of Alzheimer's cases, there's also nothing that is proven to prevent it. Sure, a healthy lifestyle probably helps, but you could say that about anything. Also, usually that driving statistic is used to make people less anxious about getting on a plane, not to make people more careful while driving.
The only genetic testing I've had done has been after consultations with my physicians and specialists for health issues I'm facing and diagnostic purposes. My physicians order them from real medical entities controlled by HIPAA, but only when they believe they may show insight into real risks or to help rule in, out, confirm, or identify a type of disease (or its subtype) based upon my abnormal test results, which warrant further evaluation. This helps aid in identification and treatment, as the treatment for a specific disease they're suspicious of varies depending upon the subtype, as there are four, and they have to know which it is in order to treat it properly. I don't trust these other companies, but I do trust my physicians.
I got some testing done through our hospitals biobank and I'm a rapid metabolizer of many SSRI's like Celexa and an intermediate metabolizer of anti rejection drugs like Prograf, lets hope I never get really depressed or need an organ transplant 🤞
Here's another fun one. A friend did 3 tests. Here's why. They sent the first one in, expecting something that matched the genealogy tree/research one of their relatives was heavy into for the family. It did not match. The resemblance in parentage was was pretty intense, so they weren't thinking that (looked just like their dad). So, the friend sent it in again. Same results? No. Completely different results including heavy Pacific Islander which is not anywhere, visible anyway, in the family. At this percentage, we'd expect some visibility. So they sent in for a third test with a complaint. The company responding asking what were you expecting. They told the company. The next test was again different than the first two but in line with the stated expectations, sans Pacific Islander.
How would you interpret that experience? Medical aspects aside.
A company relying on bad science with subpar labs did a test on fucked it up multiple times... that's how i would interpret that experience... their focus was never on finding someones ancestry which already relies on bad science or give anyone health advice... their focus was having as much data on someone as possible to sell it to anyone with a wallet
that they probably don't do any real testing in a lab. The computer just throws some random a** sh*t on you for a 100 bucks
Which company was this? I've done Ancestry (in the UK, can't speak for other countries testing) and have found it very interesting. Everyone who was supposed to come up as a match actually came up and I've had no inconsistencies, that's been the same case for my partner and some other families members.
As a bit of a genealogy nerd and someone who previously worked in the genetics field I would say this. First off the result of one test should match the result of a subsequent test. Obviously. However, a company's estimate of a person's ethnicity will shift over time. The reason for this is that the estimate is based on research. To somewhat over-simplify it they look at particular SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) which are single letter variations in a person's DNA. Specifically they look at single letter locations in the human genome that are known to vary based on geographic origin (most of our DNA is identical to each other so there's little point looking at all of it as that would significantly increase the cost). Now, how do they know what geographic location an SNP corresponds to? They look at all the people who have the variation and where they are located. The location with the highest concentration will likely be where that variation first arose. They may also look at actual scientific research papers into specific SNPs. At best it's an educated guess. And you could have the same variation arise more than once in different locations. So at a certain point in time a company might think that a particular variation corresponds to one location only to later realise that is actually corresponds to a different location, or maybe even multiple locations. As for getting a result for a particular location and a person not resembling people from that location, it's important to understand that most genes don't affect what a person looks like. For example, someone could have 30% sub-Saharan African ancestry but look stereotypically European. They probably won't. But they could.
I did a test with Ancestry and it currently says that I have around 1% DNA from the Baltic region. But that 1% was not there when I first did the test and its location has shifted around over the last five years. Originally it didn't show up, then it was central and eastern Europe generally, and now it's listed as Baltic. I uploaded my raw data to another company and paid them a small fee to have them analyse it and they say that I have 4% central European DNA. Why the difference? Because they're working with different research and data sets. So it's only ever an estimate. One company says I have 49% Irish DNA while the other says it's 75%. That's a pretty big difference. But it's because they are working with different research and data sets. The bigger the data set the more likely it is to be more accurate. Ancestry has a larger market share than the other company meaning they're working with a larger data set which means theirs is more likely to be more accurate. But it's still an estimate.
Another important thing that many people don't realise is that DNA is not inherited equally from all your ancestors. While it's true that you get half your chromosomes, and therefore half your DNA, from your mother and half from your father (there is an exception to that when it comes to the sex chromosomes but I'll ignore that here because many of the basic ancestral DNA tests don't look at those chromosomes), you do not inherit 25% of your DNA from each grandparent (or 12.5% from each great-grandparent). Chromosomes recombine during gamete formation so you will get more DNA from one of your mother's parents than from the other one (and the same for your father). Often people expect to find certain ethic ancestry in their results and don't. Sometime it's because it's simply not there. But other times it's because they just didn't inherit any DNA from that person (or they did but it consists of the DNA that we all share so there's no way of knowing who it came from). So if someone knows for certain that they have Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, for example, and it doesn't show up that is not conclusive proof that they are wrong about their ancestry. It may just be too far back that they inherited none of it or what they did inherit is the DNA that is shared by everyone.
All of that said, different tests with the same company all done within a short period of time should yield the same result (unless their data set has been significantly updated between tests). One way to know if the company has completely botched the test would be to look at what relatives the test matches you against. My Ancestry test has matched me to around 200 people that I know from research I am related to. So I know they didn't botch it or mixed it up with someone else's test.
If someone is seriously interested in finding out what their ancestry is I would recommend using a DNA test in conjunction with genealogical research. But know that records only go back so far. For example, for me to find out where the alleged 1% Baltic DNA came from I'd have to go back 6 to 7 generations assuming equal inheritance of DNA (I'd be looking for a 4th or 5th great-grandparent). That would place it in the mid to late 1700's. I've been able to determine which branch that DNA comes from by looking at which of my relatives also show Baltic DNA and determining our common ancestors. In that branch I know who all of my 4th great-grandparents were and who some of my 5th great-grandparents were, but not all of them. It's a work in progress and it could actually be further back than that. Also, infidelity, "illegitimate" births, and men knowingly taking responsibility for other men's children are all things that happen. So just because a man is recorded as a child's father it doesn't mean he was. So sometimes you will not be able to find out where a small percentage of DNA actually came from.
If you are going to do genealogical research my best advice is do not trust anyone else's research. Do your own. A lot of people are sloppy with it and just accept anything that looks interesting without verifying whether the records are even for the right person. The sad truth is that you're probably not related to royalty or anyone famous. Your ancestors were probably all peasants. Because nearly every human being on the planet were peasants or similar at one point in time. I am curious which company those tests were done by?
I've heard this story before. It's always "a friend." 😂
Genetic tests companies should only focus on ancestry finding and not on giving health advices
The ancestry findings aren't even reliable. If you take multiple tests with different companies, you get different ancestry details
More importantly, people need to realize that THEY are the real product these companies are selling.
Selling to insurance companies, cops, any who knows who else.
@MonkeyJedi99 us, china, various businesses, there is a slight possibility even that bio/weapons/research may buy them too.
To be honest not even that is completely accurate. They can get an idea of your genes but to get an exact % is definitely them making that up. Nothing in genetic technology is that accurate.
Such a business model isnt quite sustainable, it's very natural for them to venture out. And as a layman, it's quite easy to link genetic test with health, and I bet they felt the same and ventured out in this direction
As a donor conceived person we really need these kits to help us find our families
Love this video. In a cardiovascular genetic counselor in NYC and I have noticed that these tests lead to so much confusion and misinformation about risk for complex diseases. They can be fun but definitely cannot replace medical genetic testing
So, they're the astrology of medical diagnostic testing?
wow its so cool to see you say you are a cardiovascular genetic counselor, I remember watching you when you were applying to schools! congrats
Dangit. I was hoping this could be a cheaper option for me. I had a PT ask if I had EDS, but I've never had the genetic test, and insurance won't cover it.
More information needs to be given to people that nothing not even certified medical diagnosis is going to always be 100% accurate. Nothing in this world is guaranteed so take everything you hear with skepticism (but not cynicism) and use critical thinking to really analyse a situation.
I tell folks: take the test results with a grain of salt and discuss ALL test results with a real medical professional
My aunt took a commercial genetics test because of family history of autoimmunity. The results came back with 11 different pathogenic alleles, 5 of which were dominant, but she had no symptoms of any of the dominant alleles she allegedly had. I warned her the commercial genetics tests were not up to snuff, so she went to an actual genetic counselor who tested multiple members of the family and found no pathogenic alleles except for one which increases risk for autoimmunity.
My Grandma did an ancestry test and it was by a company that doesn’t offer medical advice, it just told her what countries our family originated from, that’s it.
The fear is what data they actually collected (beyond what they told you) and who has and will have access to it. If your grandma’s DNA is accessible to law enforcement for instance, you can be incriminated if your DNA is present at a crime scene. It just opens up so many avenues for falsely incriminating or target you for medical/health scams. Knowing what people are or will die from is a very powerful tool of manipulation. And one person’s data breach exposes an entire family. There are probably more consequences to be seen as well. The more extreme “thinkers” worry about forced sterilization programs with these type of data for instance
They also are now selling your Grandmas data to everyone with a wallet
they still have your grandma's DNA information to sell to 3rd parties.
@LoFiAxolotl i bought his meemaws data to make sure I can clone her in my underground lab 😈😈
@@LoFiAxolotl I didn't buy the Grandma's data
Thank you for covering this! When I did one of these tests 10 years ago to find out my ancestry, I deleted my information once I received my results. Many people do these for fun but don’t take proper precautions and forget about it. If only companies were consumer-friendly. I wish every doctor was like Dr. Mike! Thank you for sticking to your values and refusing to promote unethical products!♥️
hopefully your information really got deleted, cuz you can't take that for granted...
@Xia-hu You’re right! Wishful thinking- it’s crazy what companies can get away with.
I'm not a gambler, but giving your DNA to strangers for an answer you're assuming is true seems wild.
Amazing video! I'm a geneticist and I have been sharing these concerns for years. I've also corrected friends and family on their interpretation of their results. Most of the confusion comes from the lack of information from the companies, but a lot of it is due to poor general science literacy.
the apps explain very thoroughly that none of it is an accurate predictor because of the huge margins or error. there’s even multiple detailed reviews you must complete before even seeing your result. so it truly is just terrible science literacy. gotta remember most people barely passed those classes in school
Thoughts on genesight pharmacological test?
Glad Dr Mike is talking about such issues which are usually glossed over by mainstream media
I’m NOT a doctor but I warned everyone too! This video is informative!
I literally bought one for Christmas for my sis 😭 now I feel bad and it was like $100
Edit: thanks for all the replies
Don't use her real name and don't opt in for dna relatives and she should be fine. The info is nice and you can download the raw data to check the individual genes (to see what variants you have)
ITS FINE U CAN GIVE IT TO ME IF U WANT
Whatever you do, don't give it to the person above me
why feel bad? its an awesome gift!
Whatever you do, don't listen to anyone in this comment thread.
I took a DNA test in 2021. I didn't do it for any medical advice as if I wanted any of that info, I'd talk to my doctor first. I took a Ancestry DNA test. I wanted to find out about my grandfathers family as he was illegitimate so no father was mentioned on his birth certificate. He died before I was born so I never got to meet him. None of my dads family knew much about my grandfathers family either, so I wanted to find out who his family was and I thought taking an Ancestry DNA test would be the best way of doing it.
While I was a little concerned about the privacy, I have ended up learning so much about my ancestors that I never knew before. I have got in contact with lots of closer and slightly distant relatives I never knew I had as well and been able to prove we are related through documented evidence, so it defiantly helped on that regard.
Thank you for this comment. I was adopted by my great uncle and aunt but never met my bio dad or anyone on his side because he died before I could. I've always wanted to do a dna test so I could find out a little more about his side and even see how much of my dna matches with my adoptive dad too
I think ancestry is fun for the family history side ( that's why we did ours, and it did really help with knowing which countries to start searching in because we had little records for the one side of my family ) but I definitely know people who found out that the "neighbors" actually were half siblings and another who found half siblings in another state. Crazy world...
* Definitely
@@Kal93baby I have noticed quite a few of my DNA matches say on their profiles that they were adopted and looking for family, so its a good way of potentially finding who your family are.
For me, I haven't yet found that much info to find my grandfathers family. I was able to find out the person listed as present at the birth of my grandfather, he was living with her and her husband until he married my grandmother, so he might have been adopted by them. I also found her maiden name matched the surname of my grandfathers mother listed on his birth certificate, so they were probably related. I am still trying to find who she was.
I was also able to find who my grandfathers only sibling, my great-uncle was as I found his birth certificate. The person it said was present at his birth, I got a 4th cousin DNA match to a direct descendant of hers so that helped, especially knowing her maiden name and finding a number of DNA matches with either that same surname or they have trees with direct ancestors with the same surname. I still keep hitting brick walls but it was a useful step in the right direction.
Dr mike is a total bundle,gives accurate information and useful information,is funny and comical and is a treat to my eyes❤
Yes he is so informative.
Your treat to my eyes comment made me smile. It's true. 😂
I did this. They came back with some info on medical that was wrong. They said I wouldn't develop it, and I already had the health issue. Two in fact. I wasn't there to find out medical. I wanted to know where I came from. Being adopted there is no info about what you background is. This was the closest thing I could do for my children.
Same, also adopted: I had zero clue of a family history. I've had Dr's dismiss health concerns because "you don't have a family history of that, so it's unlikely, we don't need to test for that" and insurance was the same way. I don't have a family history of anything!
I did it trying to get a "baseline", and maybe connect with a relative that know, not as a 100% accurate .
Adoption is a great reason for these to exist... one of my friends was adopted and found out that their best friend (younger, lived in the same neighborhood and also adopted but younger by about 2 years) was actually their full-blooded sibling- mom AND dad. Absolutely bonkers, as they were adopted from out of the country! the odds of ending up as neighbors half a world away from where they were born...we are still shocked.
I took 23 and me for health insights since I found out my paternal grandma had Parkinson's. So I learned that I'm super white, my eyes will go bad(der) and that my mom had a half sister she went 60+ years without knowing about and we got to connect with that half sister's children (she passed away a year prior) and it was one of the most wholesome, uplifting, amazing things that's ever happened in my extended family. My mom loves spending time with her new nephews and nieces and they were so happy to finally fulfil their mom's life long wish of finding the family she never got to know. So I mean, some good came out of the $200 my mom spent on me for my birthday that year.
Yeah I found my birthfamily.
Bill Burr: "Why would you send your saliva into the internet?"
I did Ancestry to find both sides of my family, I was born in 1977 and put in the NY system in 78. Was able to find both sides in 2017-2018, but never paid attention to health stuff and I don't really care about the privacy side either for myself. Finding and connecting with family I was searching for since I was 18 is worth just about anything for me. This is just my story of course and I didn't use 23&me, so just my 2 cents...
Something else scummy Dr. Mike didn't mention: If that's 23andMe's actual website at 7:54, notice how their graphical user interface (GUI) is designed (very likely purposefully) to be confusing regarding opting in or out of consent for sharing. When you're opted-in to sharing your personal data (the default), the button is grey, and says "Opt Out", while clicking the button TO opt out makes it highlighted and say "Opt In". While, I'm sure the company would argue, this is because you click the button to Opt Out, therefore the button says what you're doing if you click it, I can guarantee you many people were confused by the GUI due to being opted in showing as greyed out and saying "Opt Out", as if indicating "Opt Out" is your current setting and sharing your personal data is "turned off", while being opted out by clicking the button makes the button display "Opt In" and light up, as if to indicate you now ARE opted in, and sharing your personal data is "turned on".
Very good catch!
Talk about health insurance. You have a large following you can help with change.
The US health insurance system is the reason US doctors make almost $100,000 more per year than Canadian and UK doctors, so.... don't hold your breath for him to bite the hand that feeds him.
If I was worried about a possible genetic disease, my first step should absolutely be talking to a doctor, not buying a test kit. However, as someone without insurance, it's functionally impossible for me to see a geneticist, so I could see other people in my situation spending a few bucks for one of these at-home DNA testing kits.
It sucks, but this industry was only able to blow up like this because the American healthcare system makes obtaining care expensive, burdensome, or impossible.
I’m not in the medical field and knew right away not to do this, I was worried about my privacy and accuracy.
Who mentioned accuracy? The results are accurate, it’s what you do with them -that is the issue being discussed here.
@@clearhaven Accuracy 100% matters here. Those companies have literally had privacy breaches and are completely misleading their consumers. The accuracy matters because after you take this test, you might get a result that says “High Risk” for Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer just because ONE person along your family line had it, without taking into account your lifestyle. These tests are not done by genetic specialists. They do not understand the coding and extensive history that actually goes into genetics such as: hereditary, health factors, and patient history. In conclusion, this is NOT reliable at all, this is dangerous and a stupid, desperate attempt to monetize people’s health further for the sake of their company.
Maybe watch the video before commenting and you would understand that.
Edited for grammatical purposes.
@@novaoddityexcept the results are accurate lol. They don’t base it on 1 singular person and just say “yup good enough for me they’re high risk”
I'd especially hope even if you did do this, you'd use a unique and strong password + 2fa.
@@clearhaven Accuracy is absolutely a huge topic especially since they rely on bad science
Excited for the video
I could see how Home Genetic Tests can go awfully wrong. Imagine trying to live a calm and normal life, knowing you have a higher risk for Alzheimer's ...
Knowing that you have a higher risk should make it a priority for you to make changes in your lifestyle to reduce your risk. How is that not helpful to you??
@@k.larson4682 Yeah but for Alzheimer's?
@@k.larson4682The problem is that these tests don’t come with the medical guidance a medical genetic test or counselling would be coupled with. Is it a significant enough increase in risk that I should make lifestyle changes? What lifestyle changes should I make? Does this change screenings I should take? Does it make actual sense for me to worry about it?
@@k.larson4682 Did you watch the video? Dr.Mike just said there is no action you can take with that result. If your genetically gonna get it, it's hard-coded. No lifestyle change can alter your DNA.
@@k.larson4682Having a healthy lifestyle will reduce your risk of developing many diseases. So you should try to have a healthy lifestyle regardless of your genes. But for something like Alzheimer's, there's no single proven cause and there's no cure - so you'll just be left with health anxiety for the rest of your life and no way to take meaningful action if you find out you're at higher risk.
I’ve always been on a fence about these/ I was close to buying a few times but never did. I appreciate you doing the research and putting out the information for us.
I would be wary of letting a private business have access to my phone number, let alone my DNA sequence
Won't give out an email address anymore and people out here handing over their biological make-up forever for a quick answer you have no real way to know if it's true.
@ThatGuy-vi8ch some stores I go to ask for my postal code before paying and I don't think they should be able to ask for that
My coworker and I were talking about this exact thing yesterday!
What are you concerned they'll do with your DNA?
@@DILFDylF Well, if history shows us anything, it's not good.
I’m a pre-med student and was really interested in DNA. Last year I decided to get an ancestry test out of pure curiosity. It revealed that my parents weren’t biologically related to me and allowed me to know more about where I come from and contact my bio mother. My ancestry test did not involve many health insights but it did reveal parts of my life that I am very grateful for. I think ancestry is great for finding your origins as long as you aren’t looking for definitive health insights, or any health insights at all.
Yeah Dr. Mike. THIS is why I refused to take one of these "23&Me" tests that I had gotten for my birthday once recently (a few years back.)
Otherwise tho I have had other full "Genomic" testing done for other real "research" reasons at a University with an actual Geneticist...
Given those results and your own experiences that you bring up here in the video are among the reasons that I have continued my stance against this type of BS...
The best in providing accurate info and as always,very informative.Much love to you Dr Mike.Have an amazing Christmas 🌲
I’d like to know more about those genetic tests that supposedly tell you which psychiatric medications will work best for you based on your genes
I did one through my psychiatrist!
I’ve used over 10 psych meds in my lifetime. Zoloft (what I’m on now) is the only thing that works well with me that I’ve tried and genetically it’s true too. My psych had me start L-methylfolate to help me and now I need to schedule blood work because my iron is going to need to be lowered or discontinued because of how the supplements been fixing up some loose ends in my gut 😂
It's pretty accurate for me at least.
Lots of meds that I wouldn't do well with were meds that failed or made me get psychosis cause they were so awful.
@ same here. Prozac, cymbalta, lexapro etc
From what my psych said that it tells a person which medications are metabolized best, so in theory, should work best for the person. It's still a trial and error though. I've never taken this test, but know other people who have and it's about 50/50 whether, the medication that's supposed to work, really works or not. My psych said that the science needed to accurately test which medications would really work is not advanced enough yet.
@ yeah 1 that didn’t work for me was pristiq, I had issues with fatigue when taking it even tho it wasn’t a regular side effect. But for the most part I don’t metabolize things well because of one thing but pristiq didn’t have it so I was like “that’s odd” but hey you win some you lose some.
I rarely see doctors talk about such topics. Thanks Dr Mike 👏
I wasn't expecting a video about online genetic testing, really graceful with you doing that.
I would suggest a video about telemedicine and online therapy...
I really like having telehealth appointments. I do my therapy that way.
I also remember when Dr Mike did a short on black plastics where they could reach the hazardous levels of fire retardant consumption. But the study researchers made a critical maths error of 70x600 = 4200 instead of 42000
Dr Mike, can you talk about the BRCA gene mutations? The BRCA 1 gene mutation runs in my family. I had 50% chance of having it, and as a female getting those news last year at only 17, it was really scary. Luckily, though they usually don’t do genetic testing until you’re 18 here in Norway, since I was so close to that age and because the doctors viewed this as urgent enough, I did the genetic testing and found out the results of the tests were negative. Other than knowing if I had the mutation I would have a much larger percentage chance of getting specific kinds of cancers, and would have to do breast cancer screenings from an earlier age and possibly also need surgeries, I don’t know much about this gene mutation. A video on the BRCA mutations and even other information on genes would be really interesting. Love your videos🥰
Dang they WONT give me genetic testing at my regular Dr's *because* I'm over 18. Love to hear Norway cares about their adults and not just minors
@where r u from?
Lot’s of info on that specific gene mutation on the 23andme website. Go do some research. You can expect to be spoon-fed everything.
@@clearhaven
I know there is information out there, but he make videos about medical stuff so I just came with a suggestion. Plus he is someone I trust to give correct info
@selmahoiseth sadly, USA 💔 they barely care abt minors but once you're 18 here there's nothing for help. I need to drive 3 hours to a specialty hospital just to get the basic testing for EDS. I wish they did it the way Norway does it, makes more sense to do it in early adulthood.
This is so frustrating! I really wanted to use one of these to try and find out about my anonymous egg donor, but naturally corporate greed just HAD to get in the way.
I have 23 and me and mever paid attention to the health really. I always thought some was interesting but never serious. I always liked their ancestry part and felt they should have stuck with that. I dont regret taking it, it has shown me relaitves i didnt know and help make bridges.
It's pretty disheartening when you realize that over half of the biotech industry is really just playing pretend to secure investor funding. People without the fundamental skills to analyze data and read/understand privacy policies have to rely on other people who can, like Doctor Mike! You're doing a good thing
Being told through email that I have an elevated risk of developing an incurable disease is my idea of a good time! The idea that the health report is “just for fun” is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. This is kind of like randomly giving people full body CT scans, there’s a reason that we don’t go looking for problems like that. If the test just said things you don’t need to worry about then maybe that could be useful.
I did a health oriented genetics test from an EU company a couple of years back, and personally I'm glad I did.
I know I have to take everything with a grain of salt, however when I did the testing a lot of results popped up which really well aligned with my and my own family's experiences, it explained quite a bit.
From this info, it further reaffirms to me what I had my doubts on, and therefore the next step would be to go to a doctor to get proper confirmation, or already start implementing life changes and see if things get better.
Dr Mike is a complete package that provides all types of medical information whatever the health problem may be. ❤
Thank you for validating my concerns on this. SO glad I didn't sign up for 23 and me (the one I looked at)
Knew it, didn't finish the video but I knew it!...."continue watching"
Years ago when they were sponsoring all sorts of content creators on YT, I joked about what if they got breached and had the users most sensitive data stolen. Well, that aged like milk. Actually the joke was going to age like milk either way, but I would argue that the better ending should be there is no data leak.
Even for necessary genetic testing for medical purposes, I always warn patients about the possibility of their data being used at some point by an insurance company to discriminate against them. Even though the GINA law is still in effect overall, and the ACA is still in effect for health insurance, if that information gets out a life insurance company could potentially decide not to cover somebody or rescind a policy, or an employer could choose not to hire somebody, or find an excuse to fire them before they become expensive to the company.
And although medical insurance companies cannot currently refuse coverage based on medical history, if the Republicans destroy the ACA like they have been threatening to, that protection goes away as well.
And sending your DNA to a for-profit company that may or may not guard the information, is definitely something to think very carefully about before doing .
I love you Dr. Mike! I'm always so excited when you make a video. However, can you please make concise versions of your Wednesday checkup. They are so interesting, but it is hard to watch the whole video.
My brother and I have been trying to warn my family about this for YEARS. Thank you!
DR MIKE NEEDS TO REACT TO OUTER BANKS MEDICAL SCENES
Another thing that really worries me about these dna tests: I’m a historian, and I’ve been noticing for a while now a worrying trend of people putting way to much emphasis on things like genetics and dna when it comes to topics relating to different cultures and cultural appropriation. The way I’ve heard some people talking about these things, it’s honestly reminding me quite a bit of the pseudoscientific (once considered to be a legit form of science) field of Racial Biology, aka the idea that humanity can be divided into different “races” the way that say dogs can, and that different races carry different genetic traits that make them look and behave a certain way, (and that they should therefore be kept separate) and that really worries me. There is no such thing as one gene that corresponds directly to a specific ethnic group or culture, but the way these tests present their results they almost make it look like there is! And I worry that it might lead people to think that humans are a lot more genetically, and as an extension of that more culturally, segregated than we actually are, and that people might start thinking that cultural sharing and appreciation is something wrong and abnormal, rather than a completely normal part of ALL human cultures that we have been practicing and doing for thousands of years!
I'm so glad you did this video. I have a friend who diagnosed herself with a connective tissue disorder by using this. I really appreciate your research so much. I do, too, and try to get my friends and family to do the same.
"By default they were sharing your data without you even knowing""
Every social media platform ever
Yeyyy, a doctor mike video.
You nailed it on this one. Never bought the hype. If my doctor isn't with it, I'm out!
Well I'm glad I saw this video pop up because I was gonna do a test next year
If your gut was not suspicious of 23 & me you need a gut check. I remember the Veristablishmentium video and getting a big "NOPE"
Veristablishmentium
Bro thats crazy! Thank you for posting this so me and my folks didn't have to deal with any of this
Perhaps in future include the possible ways how companies use the bought/leaked data and how it affects us in daily basis in a bad way. Otherwise the average person does not understand impact
Thanks for the information Dr. Mike. And as for the sponsor, would appreciate if you didn't imply that the discount would actually make significant difference compared the value you said (In this case, it could be miscontrued that the subscription would cost me a bit more less than 5 dollars when in fact it's just 4.17). As someone living in a third world country, 4.17 is a lot for news you can access for free anyway. But still it looks like a good news source given a trustable figure like you is vying for it. I am gonna give it a shot coz I really needed a good news aggregator, but I am afraid I won't be boosting your discount numbers.
Merry Christmas Dr Mike
I used Circle DNA, which was entirely medically focused with barely any ancestry focus. I didn't know it was an option for me to talk to an actual geneticist. That seems like a really good follow-up. Thanks.
Out of respect Mike I don’t even skip this guys ads 😂❤❤
Question - can disability or long-term care companies discriminate potentially for Medically obtained genetic testing gotten through a genetic counselor ? (Like not just something like 23&me)
Like does that genetic testing stay private between you and your provider? 0:01
as someone who worked at a company that developed the equipment that performs the DNA sequencing.. speed to market has become way more important than accuracy of results.. as someone who spoke out about it too much i got let go in a round of layoffs what a surprise
I was adopted at birth and did 23&me a few years ago thinking it might help me either find relatives or family medical history/risks (the older I get the more I realize how much it sucks that I don't know my family's medical history and if I'm at risk for anything). Unfortunately I did not find out anything relevant on either relatives or medical stuff so it has largely felt like a waste of money. Had no idea the company was doing that badly though. Thank you for the informative video!
Doing a different lone like Ancestry might get better results for connecting you to other people
1:41 Isn’t there a correlation between diet and risk of developing Alzheimer’s? Or is this not proven?
TH-cam sponsors getting scandals is becoming common. Remember that noble title bs? How about Better Help? Skillshare? Years from now we will probably learn a lot of problems about Ground News.
Raid Shadow Legends might be imune because nobody can reasonably believe the hype and claims on their ads, we already know their ads are bs.
Also hello fresh is very expensive compared to buying your own groceries, and hard to cancel
At this point I have a sort of mental blacklist of companies whose advertising budget seems a bit too big to be reasonable
23andme literally never told me about this hack. Thanks a bunch.
Thank you for this
Personally, what I don't understand and what makes me not care about my personal information is... what is someone going to do with my genetic information? Same with the government having cameras and scanning my face. I don't care?
The answer is probably that I am a white privileged individual and that's why I don't see the issue for myself. If anyone has anything to tell me, please!!! I am all ears.
❤
DOCTOR MIKE!!! The video where u said that u would die your hair got more than 330k likes!!! IVE BEEN WAITING FOREVER!!
Whenever I feel sad or dumb, A little Doctor Mike video always cheers me up (:
Thank you for your due diligence Mike, I appreciate you.
Damn I wasn't doing this in the first place because I don't want corporations to have access tk my *literal dna*
I don't know if this is just an us thing but my wife and I saw things like this gene is shown in other people that don't taste cilantro(coriander) as soap or you might be more likely to like dark chocolate according to what people report. We got the medical stuff but we know this is new science and they don't have answers for more than some basics. This was too gather information not give you concrete answers. Maybe the wording changed as time went on but really for us what was fun was finding out we have certain stuff in our background. My wife's mom loved hearing all about ancestry and made our last visits with her in her right mind so special. I have her laugh saved when my wife is ready to hear it again.
You should do a reaction video to the Bondi beach Lifeguards. Bondi Beach is in Australia, and I think the lifeguards are really do their job really well. They deal with dislocation of the shoulders, spinal injuries, etc.
My family got those tests for christmas last year. Im the only one who didnt use mine yet. We just got it for ancestry. I never cared for the health history because I already know everything I need of my recent health from my recent family.
Thanks Dr Mike. As an adopted person I was just starting to think about using 23 and me to get health info, and then the story about the breach came out. I'm going to keep my spit to myself :)
I don’t think it’s a problem to get tested as long as you go to an actual geneticist and not one of these private companies.
Literally we can watch GREY'S ANATOMY as a show but can't watch Truth Or Scare as a real reality show on maybe ott or radios or tv....WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR PERSPECTIVE
Happy holidays doc...😊🎄🎊
My DNA test may have saved my life! I used Ancestry DNA, which has a ton of great non-medical features. So, UCSF and Stanford could not find the cause of my strange neurological symptoms. They pushed me off to neuropsychiatry who found no psychogenic cause. I remained undiagnosed for nearly a decade. Then I uploaded my ancestry DNA raw data to Promethease. In an instant, I discovered a genetic condition with potentially life-threatening effects that explained my symptoms. The DNA analyses costs $100. My doctors' visits cost tens of thousands.
I don't do these tests because of the privacy breaches and how they could be used against us in the future.
Very important information thanks ☺️ when i was saw find out the ancestors i was fascinated about that thing .but now i got a very interesting information from you
i’ve been little to no contact with one side of my family for basically my entire life. This makes stuff like that really interesting because I don’t know much about my ancestry or genetic predisposition. It’s always been tempting but stuff like that reminds me that this isn’t a good idea
Yeah, I'm also against commercial genetic testing for the same reasons you are. However, I'd also note that the privacy issues are not just about your individual data but that also impacts privacy of people who are related to you. If you consent but your identical twin does not consent, all their data will still be there because it is identical. And that data can be used to make guesses about your parents, other siblings and so on. Once it's out there, you can't change your genes. I think the risks are very high, privacy is not limited to the individual and most people are not prepared to understand the limitations of the information they are given. I would strongly suggest only doing genetic testing when it's suggested and performed by medical practitioners.
Even without the other potential health confusion, the privacy risks were always too great for me to ever feel comfortable with these tests.
Genetic tests should not be done alone at home. People should consult an doctor about stuff like this,it's useless to use a little thing that takes your blood/info, just to say you and your family have ancestors, that don't even relate to you, even if you do, it could still lead to confusion.
Years ago, I used CRI Genetics for my ancestry DNA test. It really seemed to focus on my ancestry moreso than the other stuff. Curious to know if you'd feel the same way about that company, Doctor Mike
Been doing Ancestry for a while now, and it is only helpful for those who want more history on their family tree, or would like to keep climbing their family tree. I’ve been able to find a ton of stuff like censuses, military records, death and birth certificates, etc. that not only show how these people are connected to my family, but it can sometimes share what happened throughout their lives.
My doctors have taken a few records from someone directly related 5 generations above me that showed a death from a miscarriage due to an internal hemorrhage in 1890 at 36 y/o, along with her 3rd child which she was pregnant with.
Great video! Marry Christmases Doctor Mike.
I specialized in genetic mutations and never took those DNA tests, the issue is several factors. For one they only test a small piece of your genetic code which is not a full picture. Secondly they compare your DNA with other broad groups from modern DNA they have in which won't be accurate. Generally people think they are "30% Irish, 50% Brazilian" etc. However that's not how that works, your DNA takes roughly half the DNA from each parent and disregards the rest leaving behind factors from other lineages, so your great ancestors might of had wildly different DNA
You also have to consider factors like convergent evolution, in the same way a gray fox is felion and a red fox is canine but both are foxes. They had both evolved in different paths but came to very similar genetics results in the end, so this could be very misleading as to your lineage
I could also go on about how mutations work, especially recessive and how it takes 2 generations to pass down, so some of your ancestors may or may not of had mutations and gone
So that's just a few small examples let alone the violation of your privacy that's been happening
What is a "felion"?
good info overall. However both grey and red foxes are canines, and are not an example of convergent evolution
@DoctorMike should have Chris Hemsworth on the podcast to talk about his Alzheimers dz risk findings. Maybe there is more to it....or nothing to it, given the surface level info doesn't really tell people if they will actually get Alzheimers dz.
Your thoughts, please, on recent events in NYC, and on the healthcare insurance industry in general.
23andme helped me make a decision about HRT. Doctors do not do genetic tests before hormone therapy.
What in a 23and me test helps you make that kind of decision?
I bet the common genetic trait found in the DNA of customers is a strong disposition for gullibility. SMH.
It's funny how (for me at least) I got a DNA testing kit ad at the start of the video, how serendipitous.
Your Lunchly video was so amazing and so good.
Hey Dr. Mike! We’ve taken the Nutrition Genome test, and are unsure whether you feel is legitimate or not. It seems pretty solid from what we’ve been told and what we can tell
1:45 why does knowing your risk chance bad? or inactionable and causing anxiety? does knowing that statistically you're more likely to die driving than flying make you more anxious to drive? doesn't recognizing that driving can be dangerous make you more cautious? there's plenty of people completely unaware and are reckless. so knowing the dangers would make you a better driver. just like, knowing you're at a higher risk of Alzheimer's should make you more aware of the possibilities and hopefully any symptoms can be recognized early. you don't have to live in anxiety over it. just be aware of the possibility.
Catching Alzheimer's early doesn't really help when it comes to treatment. You might be able to slow its progression slightly, but there's no cure or good treatment options. For the majority of Alzheimer's cases, there's also nothing that is proven to prevent it. Sure, a healthy lifestyle probably helps, but you could say that about anything.
Also, usually that driving statistic is used to make people less anxious about getting on a plane, not to make people more careful while driving.
Happy Hanukkah/ Christmas Dr mike
The only genetic testing I've had done has been after consultations with my physicians and specialists for health issues I'm facing and diagnostic purposes. My physicians order them from real medical entities controlled by HIPAA, but only when they believe they may show insight into real risks or to help rule in, out, confirm, or identify a type of disease (or its subtype) based upon my abnormal test results, which warrant further evaluation. This helps aid in identification and treatment, as the treatment for a specific disease they're suspicious of varies depending upon the subtype, as there are four, and they have to know which it is in order to treat it properly. I don't trust these other companies, but I do trust my physicians.
I got some testing done through our hospitals biobank and I'm a rapid metabolizer of many SSRI's like Celexa and an intermediate metabolizer of anti rejection drugs like Prograf, lets hope I never get really depressed or need an organ transplant 🤞
didn't feel right doing the test so I never did... glad I followed my gut feeling