23andMe can finally tell you if you're at a higher risk for diseases like Alzheimer's ' here's what you should know first

As of April 6, anyone who buys a $199 spit-in-a-tube genetics test from 23andMe will automatically learn if they're at an increased risk for developing certain diseases including Parkinson's and late-onset Alzheimer's.Until then, the only way to get these kinds of results involved seeing a specialist (and, often, a genetics counselor).But how much can you really learn from one of these tests' We spoke with Robert Klitzman, a bioethicist and psychiatry professor at Columbia University and the author of the recent book "Am I My Genes'" to find out.SEE ALSO:23andMe can now tell you whether you have an increased risk of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson'sDON'T MISS:Betsy DeVos backs a technique claiming to cure ADHD without medication ' but the science is questionableIn most cases, they can't tell you whether you'll develop a specific disease ' only whether you're at a higher risk.You carry two copies of all of your genesone from each of your parents. 23andMe'slatest test isdesigned to tell you ifyour chances of developing a disease are higher than those of theaverage person. To do that, it scans your DNAfor genetic mutations, or tweaks in your genetic material, that have been linked with specific diseases. If it finds one, it adds that information to your profile.Before you freak out, you should know thathaving a mutationdoes not necessarily mean you willdevelop that illness. It simply means you're more likely to get it than someone without that genetic tweak.In other words, "you could have the mutation and not get it, or you could not have the mutation and get it," says Klitzman.If 23andMe wanted to tell you whether you'd actually get a disease, they'd have to account for a whole lot more than just your genes.Genetics play a big role in whether we develop certain diseases, but so do our environment and our behavior. Everything from what we eat to where we're raised and how often we exercise can affect our risk of developing diseases like cancer and obesity, for example."Research suggests that some 50% of all depression cases are linked with genetics," Klitzman says. "The other 50% is environment. So if you're just looking at the genetic factors, you're missing everything else."For psychological illnesses like depression or anxiety, the picture is even blurrier.Some of our traits, like the color of our eyes, are connected to one or two genes. But this isn't the case with psychiatric characteristics like intelligence or illnesses like depression. Identifying the genetic links to those illnesses is far more complex, so don't expect your test to tell you anything about your risk of mental illness."For things like intelligence there's easily 100 different genes involved," Klitzman says. "So the notion that you're going to test for a few of them and that's going to be predictive, that's not reflecting the complexity of genetics and of the mind and brain."See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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