Warnings over shock dementia revelations from ancestry DNA tests

According to The Tweeted Times, it was by far the most Tweeted Guardian Science article in that period, with 751 Tweets by Wednesday 30 August

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As of 30 August 2017, the article had been shared over 1,800 times and commented on over 650 times on The Guardian website

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27th August 2017

Excerpt from article:

People who use genetic tests to trace their ancestry only to discover that they are at risk of succumbing to an incurable illness are being left to suffer serious psychological problems. Dementia researchers say the problem is particularly acute for those found to be at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, which has no cure or effective treatment. Yet these people are stumbling upon their status inadvertently after trying to find their Viking, Asian or ancient Greek roots.

“These tests have the potential to cause great distress,” said Anna Middleton, head of society and ethics research at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge. “Companies should make counselling available, before and after people take tests.” The issue is raised in a paper by Middleton and others in the journal Future Medicine.

The circulation of the article was over 5 million between print and online versions, according to Gorkana

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Citation:

- McVie R (2017) Cited Anna Middleton. ‘Warnings over shock dementia revelations from ancestry DNA tests.’ The Guardian, 27 August 2017, p6