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DNALife Review: Can DNA Tests Aid Healthcare Providers?

Written by Samantha Odake, BS | Last updated:

Overview

  1. Products: DNA tests, health, nutrition, and fitness reports.
  2. Cost: Healthcare providers must contact the company for information on prices.
  3. Reports: Health, nutrition, and fitness reports.
  4. Raw data access: No.
  5. Privacy: DNALife claims not share personal or genetic information with third parties.
  6. Alternatives: SelfDecode – get personalized health recommendations based on an analysis of up to 83 million genetic variants.

Pros

  • DNALife delivers health recommendations in their reports.
  • The company offers a wide variety of reports.
  • They offer training for medical professionals to help with the interpretation of genetic results.

Cons

  • Limited number of SNPs analyzed per report.
  • The company does not provide scientific references in the reports.
  • They do not offer updates based on new developments regarding the conditions tested.
  • No raw DNA data upload.

About DNALife

DNALife is a nutrigenomics company founded in 2013 as the result of a joined effort between Nordic Laboratories, a Denmark-based company that strives to promote individualized and preventative healthcare, and DNAlysis, one of South Africa’s premier genetic testing laboratories.

They operate in an ISO accredited laboratory and offers DNA tests for general health, nutrition, and fitness. The company offers tests exclusively through trained medical professionals.

Review of DNALife Products & Features

DNALife offers products in Nutrigenomics that provide information about the interaction of genes and nutrition. Patients must contact a healthcare provider to order the tests, which are listed below.

  • DNA Smile: Analyzes 22 SNPs involved in key biological processes associated with oral health.
  • GrowBaby: Helps understand maternal and fetal health. Offers insights to help optimize health outcomes during pregnancy by providing personalized diet, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations based on DNA.
  • DNA Health: Tests for 36 genetic variations associated with the risk of certain health conditions, including bone health, cancer, food sensitivities, and more.
  • DNA Sport: Offers information about sports performance potential, injury prevention, and recovery. Includes analysis of bone and muscle composition, aerobic capacity, and more.
  • DNA Diet: Assists healthcare professionals in designing a personalized diet plan based on DNA results. Tests several SNPs that impact metabolism, absorption, and storage of fats and carbohydrates, and eating behavior.
  • DNA Mind: Analyzes 30 genes associated with mental health disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and eating disorders.
  • DNA Skin: Examines 19 gene variations related to skin traits like elasticity, inflammation, sun sensitivity, and more.
  • DNA Oestrogen: Tests for variants that are shown to impact how estrogen is processed and helps identify breast cancer risk.

DNALife also offers a Pharmacogenomics test that identifies how the patient may respond to certain drugs. It includes cardiovascular, psychotropic, and pain medications.

It’s worth noting that the company will not include any future discoveries related to the genetic variations tested. They may send an offer to the user about new developments, which they can choose to purchase separately. Patients receive no further information, feedback, or updates regarding the tests performed.

Their website does not provide much information about the tests and how they perform the DNA analysis. According to their privacy policy, users are required to email the company if they wish to obtain more information regarding their nutritional genetic screening or even to view DNALife’s Terms and Conditions.

Another point to be made is that DNALife only looks at a limited number of genetic variants to provide their conclusions and recommendations. For example the DNA Health report tests for 36 gene variants involved in various biological processes, including cholesterol metabolism, bone health, inflammation, and insulin sensitivity.

By analyzing only a few variants, DNALife could potentially be leaving out many that can impact health. For comparison, SelfDecode offers dedicated DNA reports for cholesterol, bone health, inflammation, and blood sugar (to name a few) that analyze up to 1 million+ variants each and provides personalized health recommendations based on the results.

DNALife does claim to offer courses and additional educational resources for healthcare professionals to help with the interpretation of genetic tests, both online and in person.

Review of DNALife Reports

All of the reports are presented similarly. They explain the level of impact the gene examined has on the condition, as shown below. The DNA Health summary table offers information about the gene and gene variation analyzed, the specific results, and the gene impact for each biological area.

DNALife health report

The report also provides an overview of the results that includes recommendations, and if the condition examined presents a higher or lower priority, seen below.

DNALife expands on each result by offering a brief explanation of the condition and provides specific genetic results. At the end of each section, they compile all the health recommendations and suggest the next steps, as shown below.

DNALife sport report

The reports do not include scientific references or studies to support the conclusions. Moreover, the company does not consistently provide specific suggestions such as nutrient needs based on DNA to help users manage their health.

The pharmacogenomics report presents information about certain medications and how the patient may react to them. The results are categorized into actionable and informative recommendations.

DNALife explains that informative recommendations are based on insufficient or contradictory scientific findings and doctors should proceed with caution. Actionable recommendations are based on publications by experts and regulatory agencies, and they can be implemented in a clinical setting.

The results indicate whether the medication has a reduced efficacy, increased toxicity, if it presents a moderate risk, or if it can be prescribed according to standard practice, as shown in the report below.

Cost of DNALife

DNALife does not include test prices on their website. Health practitioners must contact the company to learn more about pricing information and details regarding the DNA tests. Patients must contact a healthcare provider to get the tests.

Health Recommendations from DNALife

DNALife offers diet, nutrition, and fitness reports. They provide recommendations along with the results, but some can be very generic. The company informs which conditions present a higher risk to the user and emphasizes which health areas patients should focus on. Some reports also suggest additional testing to be done.

However, it’s worth noting that DNALife only looks at under 40 genetic variants per report, meaning they could be potentially leaving out many that can have a significant impact on health. They also do not provide scientific references in their reports.

Review of DNALife Privacy & Data Security

DNALife claims all genetic and personal information is maintained under a strict policy of confidentiality as required by the General Data Protection Regulation. After the samples are tested, they are stripped of all personal identifiers and destroyed or used as controls in future assays. Users can request that their sample be destroyed at any time.

The company maintains that they do not disclose personal information to anyone outside the company, and only those who require access to perform the services are granted access.

SelfDecode vs DNALife

  1. SelfDecode delivers natural supplements, diet, and lifestyle suggestions based on your genes that you can implement right away. DNALife offers health, diet, and fitness recommendations.
  2. SelfDecode tells you why they make each recommendation so that you can understand the science behind the suggestion. DNALife explains the link between the genes and the health condition analyzed but does not support their conclusions with scientific studies.
  3. SelfDecode prioritizes recommendations based on their analysis of all the relevant genes instead of one gene at a time (through reports). DNALife informs users which health areas they should prioritize.
  4. SelfDecode takes a holistic approach to give recommendations that are best for your genes AND the health topic. DNALife offers reports on different health areas, and each condition is analyzed separately. Users will not receive updates to their reports.
  5. SelfDecode has a team of over 60 highly skilled scientists, MDs, PhDs, NDs, and software engineers to make sure they deliver the most accurate and science-based health information. Unfortunately, DNALife does not disclose any information about how their team is composed.
  6. SelfDecode is the most comprehensive and looks at more genes & SNPs (over 83 million) to deliver the best analysis of genetic risks. DNALife analyzes under 40 genetic markers per report.
  7. SelfDecode supports everything with peer-reviewed scientific studies in their research and checks for contradicting information. DNALife does not provide scientific references in their reports.
  8. SelfDecode never sells your data or gives it away. DNALife claims not share genetic or personal information with third parties.

Comparisons

SelfDecode

DNALife EasyDNA

DNAFit

Personalized & holistic health recommendations

Yes No No

No

One-click regimen builder

Yes No No

No

Products

DNA testing, wellness reports, research-based health recommendations, lab test analyzer, patient and provider options DNA tests, health, nutrition, and fitness reports DNA tests, ancestry, wellness, and health reports

WES, nutrition and fitness reports

Raw data access

Yes No No

No

Cost (USD)

$97 – $389 Not disclosed $60 – $1,495

$49 – $629

DNALife Reviews

Despite being around since 2013, there are not many online reviews about DNALife. In a sponsored review, the South African wellness blog Nutreats stated that they found the information to be useful and that the company provided valuable insights about which health areas should be a priority.

Last year, the company partnered with a Mexican laboratory to expand their services to Latin America.

Alternatives to DNALife

SelfDecode: The best health-focused DNA test that delivers personalized lifestyle, diet, and supplement recommendations through detailed reports on over 35 health topics.

DNALife Review Summary

DNALife offers health, diet, and fitness reports through trained medical professionals to help patients manage their health. They deliver health recommendations in their DNA reports, some of which can be very general. The company does not provide scientific references to support their suggestions.

The reports explain which conditions present a higher health risk and offer valuable information to help patients improve their overall well-being. However, the company only analyzes a limited number of genetic variants per report, potentially leaving out many that can impact health. The reports also do not include any updates to reflect the latest scientific findings.

For a more comprehensive genetic analysis, SelfDecode could present a better option. SelfDecode uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to examine up 83 million genetic markers. Then, the reports deliver personalized health recommendations all supported by scientific evidence, and users also get access to new information as the genetics field continues to expand.

For healthcare providers, SelfDecode offers professional plans that include personalized genetic and lab insights and recommendations based on each client’s unique results. Practitioners can also easily build a custom health plan for each client based on their results by adding recommendations directly from the DNA and lab reports.

Related

About the Author

Samantha Odake

Samantha Odake

BS
Samantha is an engineer turned writer with a passion for helping people.

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