A Times reporter took three genetic tests and got three wildly different answers

If a recent New York Times piece is any guide, direct-to-consumer genetic testing may have more accuracy problems than we thought. Reporter Kira Peikoff ordered three simultaneous tests of her genome from 23andme, Genetic Testing Laboratories, and Pathway Genomics — and the results varied more widely than you might think. According to 23andme, she had an elevated risk of psoriasis, with a lifetime risk of 20.2 percent, but GTL put her lifetime risk at only two percent, well below average. Both firms showed her Type 2 diabetes risk as slightly below the general population, but described it as “decreased” and “medium” respectively, two very different interpretations. It’s a reminder of how far genetic testing services still have to go on the accuracy front, over a month after 23andme was blasted by the FDA for marketing their products without approval.