Why test for genetic risk
Genetic factors make up 30% of the risk of early death.1 Knowing your risk puts the power in your hands. Based on your genetic risk report, you can take action to help prevent future disease.
You can make informed decisions that lead to better health outcomes for you and your family.
- Genetic predisposition
- Social circumstances
- Healthcare
- Environmental factors
- Behavioural patterns
Cancer
Many cancers, including cervical, breast, prostate and liver cancer, are on the rise in Africa.2 Cancer can be difficult and costly to treat in its advanced stages, but when diagnosed early, it can be treatable, with a good prognosis. For example, 90% of women diagnosed with breast cancer at the earliest stage survive the disease for at least 5 years compared to 15% of women diagnosed with the most advanced stage of disease. Knowing your genetic risk for certain types of cancer can alert your healthcare providers to begin specific, regular screening to detect cancer at an early stage.
Heart Disease
Heart disease is steadily becoming a major killer in Africa.4 Cardiomyopathies are diseases of the heart muscle that affect the ability of the heart to pump blood. Many have a genetic cause. Dilated cardiomyopathy, where heart muscles expand and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscles thicken, are common heart diseases in Africans.5 Your genetic testing results from Empirica Biosciences are actionable. If you have a genetic predisposition to heart disease, you can reduce your risk of a heart disease event by 46% by making lifestyle changes6 and up to 48% by taking medication.7
Carrier Screening
Couples planning a pregnancy can opt to receive a report of their genetic variant carrier status at no extra charge. Based on this report, couples can be informed of their risk of passing on a serious inheritable disease to their children. This report will identify cases where both parents are carriers of a genetic variant for a recessive disease, in which case there is a 25% (1-in-4) chance that their child will inherit both copies of the variant and therefore, develop the disease. The carrier status report is prepared on a per-couple basis.
Retrieved from Vox.com
Volunteer Research
Empirica Biosciences also gives you the opportunity to volunteer your results for research purposes. In this case, determining your genetic risk will not only lead to better management of your personal health, but will also add to the body of biomedical research data. This is important, since there is a widely recognized information gap on genetic factors that contribute to disease among people of African descent. This research will ultimately lead to the realization of personalized medicine and personalized public health on the continent and thus, contribute towards creating a better health landscape for people of African descent.
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1Shroeder et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2007; 357(12):1221-1228. 2https://www.afro.who.int/