MyHeritage announced the launch of a new Health and Ancestry test on 20th May this year. The launch occurred at a busy time of the year and I've only just got round to investigating it. On doing so, I discovered that the test is on special offer with 40% off the recommended price until 15th July so I decided to take the plunge and order a kit. I already have a MyHeritage DNA account but I have not tested direct at MyHeritage DNA. Instead I transferred my raw data file from AncestryDNA in order to participate in the genetic genealogy matching database. I received various e-mails from MyHeritage about the new health test but none of them mentioned a discount or special introductory offer and the 40% discount does not show up when I log into my existing MyHeritage account. I don't know if this special offer is available to everyone in the UK or if a similar offer exists in other countries so you will need to check for yourself. Make sure you log out of your MyHeritage account first. There was an additional charge of £9 for shipping so the test cost me £114 in total, a saving of £74.
MyHeritage is now using the Illumina Global Screening Array (GSA) for their Health and Ancestry test. This has a different range of markers (SNPs) compared to the AncestryDNA profile I uploaded to my other MyHeritage account. Having two accounts at MyHeritage will allow me to do comparisons to assess the effectiveness of the relationship predictions with the two different chips.
Included with the cost of the test is a free 12-month subscription which will allow me to receive all the new genetic risk and carrier status reports as they are released. The health subscription also includes all of the advanced DNA features for genealogy (such as viewing family trees of DNA matches, viewing shared matches and "ethnicities", and shared ancestral places), all of which previously required a MyHeritage site subscription. The health subscription will normally cost £89. However, I am somewhat concerned that the subscription is automatically renewed at the end of the year. In order to place my order I had to authorise MyHeritage to use my PayPal account for future payments.
I don't like the idea of having subscriptions automatically renewed so I have set myself a reminder to review the situation prior to the renewal. I have also discovered that there is an option buried deep in the settings to switch off the auto-renewal.
Note that it is not possible to buy a MyHeritage kit as a standalone health test. Also you need to be aware that anyone who orders the Health and Ancestry test is automatically opted in to the relative matching feature and to the sharing of "ethnicity" reports and matching segment data. If you do not wish to opt in to these features you will need to adjust your settings in the My Privacy section under DNA Preferences. MyHeritage probably ought to review some of these default settings for their European Union customers because they are counter to the basic principles of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) which requires explicit informed consent.
I recommend checking your MyHeritage settings immediately after placing an order to make sure you are only sharing information that you wish to share.
The MyHeritage Health and Ancestry test currently offers 14 genetic risk reports including reports for haemochromatosis, Alzheimer's, late-onset Parkinson's disease, coeliac disease and hereditary BRCA cancers. There are 13 carrier status reports including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia and a number of other conditions, most of which I have never heard of. You can see a full list of the health reports here.
There have been concerns about false positive health reports with microarray testing. One study reported a 40% false positive rate though this was based on a small sample of just 49 people and included reports from third-party tools as well as direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies. According to the MyHeritage blog, the company takes additional steps to avoid false positive results and to ensure that the results are accurate. For any condition where a person has a significantly increased genetic risk, MyHeritage will double-check the results with Sanger sequencing.
MyHeritage is now using the Illumina Global Screening Array (GSA) for their Health and Ancestry test. This has a different range of markers (SNPs) compared to the AncestryDNA profile I uploaded to my other MyHeritage account. Having two accounts at MyHeritage will allow me to do comparisons to assess the effectiveness of the relationship predictions with the two different chips.
Included with the cost of the test is a free 12-month subscription which will allow me to receive all the new genetic risk and carrier status reports as they are released. The health subscription also includes all of the advanced DNA features for genealogy (such as viewing family trees of DNA matches, viewing shared matches and "ethnicities", and shared ancestral places), all of which previously required a MyHeritage site subscription. The health subscription will normally cost £89. However, I am somewhat concerned that the subscription is automatically renewed at the end of the year. In order to place my order I had to authorise MyHeritage to use my PayPal account for future payments.
If you are ordering a test from MyHeritage there a few things to watch out for from a privacy perspective. As part of the order process you need to provide information about your date of birth. There is of course no requirement that you have to provide the correct date but you need to be aware that with the default privacy settings your "general age" (eg, thirties, forties, fifties) is automatically displayed to other MyHeritage members. MyHeritage also automatically creates a profile for you and by default this is publicly displayed. The default settings are shown in the screenshot below.
Note that it is not possible to buy a MyHeritage kit as a standalone health test. Also you need to be aware that anyone who orders the Health and Ancestry test is automatically opted in to the relative matching feature and to the sharing of "ethnicity" reports and matching segment data. If you do not wish to opt in to these features you will need to adjust your settings in the My Privacy section under DNA Preferences. MyHeritage probably ought to review some of these default settings for their European Union customers because they are counter to the basic principles of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) which requires explicit informed consent.
I recommend checking your MyHeritage settings immediately after placing an order to make sure you are only sharing information that you wish to share.
The MyHeritage Health and Ancestry test currently offers 14 genetic risk reports including reports for haemochromatosis, Alzheimer's, late-onset Parkinson's disease, coeliac disease and hereditary BRCA cancers. There are 13 carrier status reports including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia and a number of other conditions, most of which I have never heard of. You can see a full list of the health reports here.
There have been concerns about false positive health reports with microarray testing. One study reported a 40% false positive rate though this was based on a small sample of just 49 people and included reports from third-party tools as well as direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies. According to the MyHeritage blog, the company takes additional steps to avoid false positive results and to ensure that the results are accurate. For any condition where a person has a significantly increased genetic risk, MyHeritage will double-check the results with Sanger sequencing.
You can watch the video below for an overview of the new MyHeritage Health and Ancestry test.
If you are in the US you should watch the US version of the video. MyHeritage have partnered with PWN Health, a private American network of doctors and genetic counsellors. US reports are reviewed by a doctor and you are referred, if necessary, to a genetic counsellor. The US price is $199 which works out at about £160 so it appears that American customers are paying a small premium equivalent to about £19 to cover the costs of the medical service. They do not have the option of ordering a test without clinical oversight.
You need to be over 18 to order the MyHeritage Health and Ancestry test. It is available in most countries of the world. It is currently not on sale in the following countries: Israel, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, North Korea, Lebanon and Syria. US residents living in the states of Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York are also not able to purchase the test. The price will vary in different countries depending on local taxes and exchange rates.
Direct-to-consumer genetic health tests are also provided by 23andMe, but they only sell their test in a limited number of countries. They are also not able to provide health reports in many of the countries where they sell their test. MyHeritage's entry into this market will now make health reports available to a much wider international consumer base. It will be interesting to see what the take up rate is and if there will be any international regulatory implications. The UK Parliament's Science and Technology Committee has just launched an enquiry into consumer genomics and the effects on the National Health Service. We will need to wait and see what recommendations emerge from this enquiry.
Once I've returned my kit it should take about four to six weeks to get my results and I will report back on what I learn and how the results compare with my 23andMe reports. There are proposals in England to have a paid for NHS genome sequencing service whereby healthy people will serve as "genomic volunteers" who will pay through the NHS for their genome to be sequenced and share the data. In the long run, I am probably likely to get more benefit from a UK-specific service which can be integrated with my health records as part of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service. However, such plans are in their infancy and, even if the service does eventually get off the ground, it will be useful to have data from other sources to serve as a comparison.
For further information about the MyHeritage Health and Ancestry test or to order a kit go to: https://www.myheritage.com/health
Further reading
- Introducing the MyHeritage DNA Health+Ancestry test (MyHeritage blog post)
- MyHeritage expands to health; launches new DNA test offering powerful and personalized health insights for consumers (press release)
- MyHeritage launches health-related genetic test, ignites debate by Catherine Offord, The Scientist
