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Review
. 2020 Feb 21;12(2):566.
doi: 10.3390/nu12020566.

Direct-to-Consumer Nutrigenetics Testing: An Overview

Matteo Floris  1   2 , Antonella Cano  1 , Laura Porru  1 , Roberta Addis  3 , Antonio Cambedda  1 , Maria Laura Idda  2 , Maristella Steri  4 , Carlo Ventura  5 , Margherita Maioli  1   4   5   6
Affiliations
Review

Direct-to-Consumer Nutrigenetics Testing: An Overview

Matteo Floris et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

At present, specialized companies offering genetic testing services without the involvement of clinicians are growing; this development is a direct consequence of the significant decrease in genotyping and sequencing costs. Online companies offer predictions about the risk of developing complex diseases during one's life course, and they offer suggestions for personal lifestyle. Several companies have been created that provide nutrigenetics services; these companies suggest dietary indications-a central issue in the prevention and etiopathogenesis of specific diseases-based on one's personal genetic background. Dietary patterns are defined on the basis of a limited set of genetic markers. In this article, we analyze the online nutrigenetics services offered by 45 companies worldwide, to obtain an overall picture of the costs, the types of nutritional traits considered and the level of scientific precision of the services proposed. Our analysis clearly highlights the need for specific guidelines, in order to ensure a set of minimum quality standards for the nutrigenetics services offered to the customer.

Keywords: diet; direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT); genetic; nutrigenetics; nutrigenomics; nutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no competing financial interests in relation to the work described.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geographical distribution of the selected nutrigenetics direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) companies. The legend reports the number of DTC-GT companies located in the represented countries (A). In graph (B), sub-continental classification of the 45 selected DTC-GT companies is shown. Multinational companies’ headquarters are located in several countries. N.A. = information not available.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Characterization of the selected DTC-GT companies based on the genetic information provided. In the graph, the selected DTC-GT companies are classified based on the type of information on genes and variants analyzed that is provided to the consumer. N = number.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Analysis of the contents of the report examples provided by the selected DTC-GT companies. In the graph, the percentages of companies including specific contents in their report examples are represented in the graph.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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