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Understanding His Risk

Jan 08, 2010

The Genetic Genealogist Blaine Bettinger compares the interpretations of his 23andMe SNP data for type 2 diabetes, as analyzed by both 23andMe and DecodeMe. Both tell him he has an increased risk for type 2 diabetes: 23andMe says his relative risk is 1.5 and DecodeMe says it is 1.61. Bettinger says that for three of the major risk SNPs, he sees that he has all six alleles. In addition, he adds that he has a family history of type 2 diabetes. Bettinger concludes:

The fact that I’m not afraid of my genetic information, or that I don’t believe in genetic exceptionalism, doesn’t mean, however, that I should ignore my genotype. In my case, my genotype has reinforced and added to my understanding of my diabetes risk, and it would be foolish to waste this opportunity to shape my future.