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Nutritional Genomics and Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: An Overview
Marta Guasch-Ferré1, Hassan S Dashti2,3, Jordi Merino2,4,3
1Department of Nutrition, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)
|April 17, 2018
Summary
Nutritional genomics uses genetic makeup for disease prevention, but evidence for current direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) recommendations is limited. More research is needed, especially for polygenic traits.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Genomics
- Precision Medicine
- Genetics
Background:
- Polygenic diseases like obesity are rising, likely due to lifestyle changes, not genome alterations.
- Nutritional genomics offers personalized strategies for managing these diseases.
- Direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) provides genetic vulnerability information, potentially influencing behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review nutritional genomics and DTC-GT services.
- To assess the sufficiency of current data for clinical and public health recommendations.
- To highlight the need for more research in nutritional genomics for polygenic traits.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of nutritional genomics.
- Analysis of direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) services.
- Evaluation of scientific evidence for clinical translation.
Main Results:
- Scientific evidence supporting genomic information for nutrigenomic applications is sparse.
- The translation of DTC-GT data into effective clinical recommendations is debated.
- Behavioral changes resulting from genetic information disclosure are inconclusive.
Conclusions:
- Current scientific evidence for widespread nutrigenomic recommendations via DTC-GT is insufficient.
- Further research is essential to generate robust data for polygenic traits.
- Personalized nutrition strategies require more robust scientific validation.
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