Whether you’re curious about your inherited health risks or interested in personalized medicine, exploring the link between your genetics and health can be empowering. Learn how a genetic counselor can help you understand the impact your DNA has on your health now and in the future.
“Genetics are an essential part of who we are and how our bodies function,” says Nichole Morman, a genetic counselor at OhioHealth. “Of course, we can’t change our DNA or the genetics we are born with. But we can change how we approach disease prevention and health maintenance when we understand our risk for inherited genetic diseases.”
Genetics and your health
The link between your DNA and your health is very complex. Your genes determine more than how you look. They’re also linked to your risk of developing conditions such as breast cancer or heart disease. However, having genetic variations that increase your risk of a disease doesn’t mean you will eventually have the disease.
The impact of environmental factors and behavior on your DNA is called epigenetics. Epigenetics plays a role in how specific genes turn on and off throughout your lifetime. This is a normal part of human development and aging. It’s not always clear how or why specific genes manifest while others don’t, but lifestyle factors do play a role. “If you know what your disease risks are, you have the information you need to make decisions,” says Nichole. “That might mean more frequent health screenings, changes to your diet or taking medications that can reduce your risk of developing a specific condition.”
What is genetic counseling?
Genetic counselors are trained to understand and interpret the complex information provided by genetic testing.
“A big part of what genetic counseling provides is clarity. Genetic information can be very complicated and difficult to understand,” says Nichole. “Having genetic information can be very empowering for people with a family history of some diseases and conditions and help them to take back some control over their health.”
Nichole says people often dismiss the benefits of genetic counseling. They might think the results won’t impact them because they already have a disease. Or because they have no family history of a disease. She explains that health conditions often run in families. With common diseases that impact both men and women, such as diabetes, the genetics might be obvious. But with a disease like ovarian cancer that men won’t get, they can still pass along those genes to female children. This is part of the reason your family history is important for genetic screening.
Genetic counseling begins with an appointment to talk about the benefits of testing and determine what tests will provide the information you’re looking for. Hundreds of different tests can identify the genes and variants that cause many chronic diseases and conditions. A genetic counselor will determine which tests are needed based on your genetic factors. Your counselor will discuss how the results might affect you. Before choosing to have genetic testing done, consider what information you will share with relatives if you find out you have a genetic condition. Factor into your testing decisions the impact the news will have on your family.
The role of genetic testing
Genetic testing is generally done using blood or saliva. The results are sent to a genetics laboratory that compares your genes and DNA with a standard expected sequence to identify differences or common variants that might impact your health. Testing results often take weeks to come back for interpretation by a genetic counselor.
For people with a known or suspected genetic disorder, genetic testing can show the risk of passing it on to a child.
Home-based, ancestry-based DNA testing is widely available, but they’re not complete. Nichole says you shouldn’t make medical decisions based on the results of home-based genetic tests. If you want to confirm the results or learn more about your genetic risk factors, discuss the results with your medical provider and consider meeting with a genetic counselor.
Lifestyle changes can’t take away your genetic risk of developing a disease or a medical condition. But Nichole says that knowing your risk and making healthy lifestyle changes can have a positive impact.
“My goal as a genetic counselor is for people to feel good about their health decisions and to empower them,” says Nichole. “I encourage people to take as much positive action as possible and not give health problems more room to grow and develop than they already have.”
Unlock the secrets of your DNA and take control of your health with personalized genetic testing at OhioHealth’s Genetic Counseling services.
