All of Us: Genetic Results

Almost two years ago, I wrote about the All of Us Research Program. Their goal was to get 1,000,000 partners who would be subjects in the largest study ever done within the U.S. I decided to participate fully and that means answering questionnaires as well as giving blood samples and other basic health information. I’ve gotten some results but this past week, I finally got some of the analysis of my DNA and genetics.

Paula likes to call me a pure-bred: all of my ancestors were Polish (with the exception of one maternal great-grandfather), while her ancestors came from all over Europe. While I was curious what the ancestry portion of the DNA test would reveal, there wasn’t much doubt. The All of Us program goes through great pains to explain why some people might want to know their ancestry while others might not. I would describe it as fairly rigorous just to make sure that you really, really wanted to know the outcome.

My DNA confirmed that there was a 79% chance that I was from Eastern Europe, specifically Poland or the Ukraine. The rest of the probability was northern or western European. No great surprises there. They also tested for four other genes, and I’ll talk about those on Saturday.

They’re still looking for participants. I would urge you to go to https://allofus.nih.gov/ and be part of something greater than yourself. You might also find out why you love cilantro or think it tastes like soap.

Super Bowl Webinar Replay

If you missed out on the webinar, you can still watch it in its entirety by purchasing the replay. It was the kick-off event for longer term focus on helping you become the best version of yourself. Aging with a Vengeance is just the beginning; you’ll see more as the year goes on.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet