Balanced - 1. Using genetic sequencing to further inform risk

‘Balanced’ pathway (some cost, some effort)

Through your work in the ‘Basics’ articles, you undertook specific action toward identifying your longevity risks. Firstly, well done! Let that sink - you’re taking ownership of your longterm health and by doing so you stand out from the crowd!

Moving ahead, you’ve now chosen the Balanced pathway. Here you’ll invest a bit more financial resource and reduce some of the time & energy required to solidify your longevity risk profile.

You are also likely to gain further insight (as compared to the ‘Budget’ pathway) into your specific longevity risks through the power of analysing your DNA (your genome).

So far, you have completed both a family health history and a free online health screening tool from the Siteman Cancer Center.

From this work, you have now identified areas of elevated longevity risk.

By digging into the data in your DNA, you’re going to find overlap between the results you already have and perhaps find additional risk areas which are unique to you.

This process will then make it possible to prioritise and manage these risks. And, as you’ll find, the resources we share will also provide you with helpful information about what steps to take.

Genetic testing for longevity risks

Estimated time to completion: 60-90 minutes (not including a few weeks of waiting while your genome is sequenced)

Costs: $300-$400USD (approximate)

Completing a longevity risk assessment ultimately means compiling a comprehensive a list of health conditions you are at risk for, including how likely they are to occur and their potential consequences.

By choosing to use genome sequencing, you are providing yourself with a comprehensive approach to your personalised longevity risk assessment, saving you time & energy over the DIY ‘Budget’ pathway.

Genome sequencing technology & costs

Over the past few years, genome sequencing technology and genetic analytics have advanced incredibly quickly.

Of particular note is the rapid expansion of the medical literature and genetic risk models which can equate the structure of your individual genome with specific disease risks.

The combination of the growth in the medical literature and the falling cost of genomic testing have now made it possible to comprehensively assess your unique longevity risk very affordably.

It is not necessary to complete full genome sequencing. Instead, we can rely on a well-targeted analyses of individual genetic variations known as "SNPs", aka single nucleotide polymorphisms as well as using multiple points in the genome to create ‘polygenic’ risk scores further reducing the costs involved.

More recent advances make it possible to use a portion of your genome to ‘impute’ the parts of the DNA that are not directly sequenced, providing more information at lower costs.

It is important to note that the results from DNA testing and algorithms are not ‘deterministic’. They are simply another tool for knowing your risk.

The likelihood of the risk eventuating is still primarily driven by lifestyle choices. However it does help to highlight your vulnerabilities if you do not optimise your lifestyle factors or the right longevity technologies.

But that’s the beauty of this approach - you need to know what lifestyle changes to prioritise in your longevity strategy. Genome sequencing paired with your family health history can do that for you.

These recent developments are exciting news for the longevity enthusiast (that’s you!), who wants to know where to most effectively apply their limited longevity budget!

Genetic testing for longevity risk: two options

Making an investment in a genomic analysis is a powerful action to take. We’re excited that you’re considering it!

A Longer Life has comprehensively reviewed, vetted, poked and prodded through nearly all of the available direct to consumer genetic testing services.

We’ve seen their reports, reviewed their privacy policies and even researched their company mission and team members.

As an outcome, we have identified two high quality options for genome sequencing and analytics which we recommend you to use to complete your longevity risk assessment.

There is no better DNA test kit option on the market for assessing you longevity risk. Self-Decode is the leader in this space.

Top pick: Self-decode

• $99USD per year

• $298USD for a DNA test kit (once off)

Self-decode provides some incredible value. Their annual subscription costs less than $100USD, provides you with access to highly personalised guidance and even provides a service for tracking & analysing your blood tests (LabTestAnalyzer).

We love that you can also ‘BYOG file’ - meaning Bring Your Own Genome file - from a wide variety of testing services. If you don’t have one, you can purchase one of their kits for $298USD.

The annual subscription provides you with detailed access to a wide variety of health/longevity risks including a ‘longevity’ specific report.

We will provide you with walk-through examples on how to leverage their platform to complete the picture of your longevity risk profile.

We have created a detailed walk-through article on how to use Self-Decode’s top-notch online platform for this purpose, you can read it here.

Muhdo’s DNA Health kit is a very affordable entry point for longevity risk assessment. They also offer additional longevity related tests, such as biological age.

Runner-up: Muhdo Health

• £140 (approx $175 USD) DNA Health kit

• Save an additional 10% with the discount code ‘alongerlife’

• No additional cost to access reports

Our runnner-up selection for longevity risk asessment via genonome sequencing is Muhdo Health’s DNA Health kit.

Muhdo’s DNA sequencing and reports are not as comprehensive as Self-Decode, but they are very well suited for assessing some of the most important longevity risk factors in your genome.

We’ve created a walk-through demonstrating how you can use their reports to better assess your longevity risk profile.

What about the other options?

We’re often asked - what about 23andMe? Well, simply put, they sell your data to third parties. That’s not our style - wouldn’t you agree? They also only sequence about 0.1% of your genome.

If you’d like to see a nice side-by-side comparison of pros & cons of various options, Self-decode have a great comparison table on their homepage (scroll down near the bottom), we suggest you check it out!

We are currently evaluating additional partnership opportunities and chances to refer you to high quality companies that share our values and provide their customers with exceptional quality products. Please get in touch if you have any recommendations for us.

Coming up next we share examples of the available reports and how you can use them to dive deeper into your unique longevity risks.