Personalized genetic assessments

As a Scripps Health employee, I have the opportunity to take part in a clinical trial that will assess what kinds of actions people take after learning more about their genetic susceptibility for disease. The Scripps Genomic Health Initiative, which is the first study of its kind, plans to enroll 10,000 Scripps employees and their family or friends in a long-term study that will be tracked for 20 years.

In a nutshell, participants fill out an hour-long online health assessment and submit a saliva sample for DNA analysis. Then a genetic scan of our DNA screens for genes thought to increase the likelihood of developing more than 20 diseases and conditions, including glaucoma, breast or colon cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and macular degeneration.

The intent of the study is to determine whether people make lifestyle changes and modify their behavior based on their screening results, through self-reported assessments… and also to track how people maintain those changes over a 20-year period.

I haven’t yet decided if I’ll participate, but I think it’s a neat opportunity, and the majority of the cost is subsidized; this type of genetic scan would normally cost $2,500 but I can enroll for only $150.

Our PR team did a great job pitching this story and received all kinds of news coverage yesterday, including an article in the Wall Street Journal.