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A Dietitian’s Personal Experience with Genetic Testing: Part I

Advancements in genetic testing have opened new avenues for understanding how our genes influence health. As a dietitian, I was eager to dive into and uncover insights beyond traditional blood work and health assessments.

This curiosity led me to undergo genetic testing through Scylex Labs, aiming to personalize my health and nutrition strategies and understand the experience from a patient perspective.

The Testing

The testing itself was super easy. After ordering the kit online, it was shipped to my home. I opted for the Full Panel, which assesses 112 genes. This includes the psychiatric, pain, nutrigenomics, weight management, and statin select panels. The instructions were clear, and the test required just a simple cheek swab that I could easily do on my own at home before sending it off in the mail.

The results were (password-protected) and sent to my email within a few weeks. For this article, I’m going to break down a bit about the pharmacogenetic and weight management reports, focusing on the nutrigenomic and fitness reports in my next article.

These pharmacogenetic reports help to identify genetic variants that may impact the safety and/or efficacy of certain medications or their dosing. These guidelines are based on the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC).

Insights into the Pharmacogenetic Reports

Each of these reports has a similar format where the drug recommendation summary is listed on the first page, and various drugs within the same category (statins, pain meds, etc) are each listed in various categories. These categories are color-coded where green signifies optimal outcomes and use as directed, yellow signifies dose with caution and moderate gene-drug interaction, and red indicates contraindicated and may cause adverse effects.

Pain Panel

My personal insights from the pain panel include that I am an intermediate metabolizer, and I should be more cautious with certain medications, including the commonly used ibuprofen. I appreciate having recommended dosing instructions for the types of drugs that are most likely to impact me in terms of their risk for adverse events.

This way, I can make a note for myself in case I come across the situation of needing pain meds in the future, and rest-assured I’ll be taking the most effective medication with likely the most limited risk for adverse side effects.

Psychiatric Panel

This report is similar to the pain panel, with drugs classified into three color-coded categories and detailed instructions on how to dose those medications that fall into the contraindicated category. It’s noted here that I am an intermediate metabolizer, and so most of the medications fall into the “green” category.

There are a few antidepressants I need to dose with caution and a couple of anti-anxiety meds that I would want to stay away from. It’s nice to have a detailed list of various medications within the same category so that I have options to choose from based on how I might respond to them.

Statin Panel

This panel analyzes at least eight different statins alongside your genetic makeup to provide the best guidance on choosing the best option. There was just one statin that came up as contraindicated on my report. While I don’t need statins at this time, this is great to make a note of so that I can choose the most appropriate medication for my genetics if the need ever arises.

Application for Healthcare Professionals

These reports give practitioners and individuals great insight into managing their health and minimizing the risk of diseases. However, know that it may be overwhelming for your patients to navigate these reports on their own.

Choose a few key genetic results to focus on at a time. Discuss these genetic concerns with your patient, providing a summary and linking it to any of their current health concerns. Then provide actionable steps they can take to make a difference in their outcomes.

For the pharmacogenetic tests, you can easily provide your patient a list of medications that would be most favorable based on their genetic blueprint. The reports also include information on how to dose certain medications most effectively to better support your patient.

Steps for Utilizing Scylex Genetic Testing as a Healthcare Professional

1. Client Assessment: Incorporate genetic testing into initial client evaluations to identify unique drug-gene interactions and nutritional needs.
2. Education: Inform clients about the role of genetics in medication management and nutrition and how testing can benefit their health.
3. Collaboration: Work with Scylex team members and other healthcare professionals to interpret results accurately.

Summary

In this first part of my genetic testing journey, I explored how Scylex Labs’ comprehensive testing panel offered a deeper understanding of my health and genetic predispositions. From the simple at-home testing process to receiving password-protected results, the experience was seamless.

As a dietitian, these insights are invaluable, enabling me to tailor personalized nutrition plans based on genetics, helping clients optimize their health and well-being. For other prescribing healthcare professionals, you get to experience the added value of being able to feel more confident in prescribing the right medications to each of your patients.

Curious about how your patient’s genes impact their health and nutrition? Consider exploring Scylex’s genetic testing for personalized insights. Stay tuned for Part II, where I’ll dive into more of my testing results and how I plan to incorporate the recommendations into my life and the testing into my practice as a dietitian.

Vanessa Imus, MS, RDN