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Many Choices

There are now thousands of genetic tests out there, driven by the dropping cost of genetic analyses, but making it tricky for consumers and their physicians to sift through them all, CNBC reports.

"There are now over 75,000 genetic tests — that comes to over 10 new tests that enter the market every day, which is both good news and bad news," the University of California, San Francisco's Kathryn Phillips tells CNBC. CNBC adds that the global genetic testing market is predicted to exceed $22 billion by 2024.

While some tests such as ones for single-gene or rare diseases are clinically useful and covered by health insurers, others fall more under the wellness or entertainment umbrellas, CNBC notes. Some tests, it says, gauge customers' genetic and other data to develop lifestyle suggestions, while others give peeks into ancestry.

Massachusetts General Hospital's Heidi Rehm tells CNBC that interpreting genetic testing results can be difficult, as some variants are thought to increase disease risk, others lower it, and yet others have unknown influences.

"They just need to be aware that you can find out things with genetic tests. There are implications. It's not just all fun and games," Clayton Lewis, co-founder of the DNA wellness company Arivale, tells CNBC.