get my genes tested

Apparently I am from the J-Hapalog (sp?) group – I left the info at home, but I got a pretty good look into where my ancestors roamed.

This sounds really interesting. I can’t wait to do this.

And sent back to National Geographic. Now I am just waiting for the results.

Nature says I’m a night owl likely to enjoy smoking and drinking, unlikely to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Sounds like nature wanted me to move to Seattle. But I’m also susceptible to cannabis addiction and restless leg syndrome. Apparently nature thought I’d be a drummer, but I wound up on bass. Ha! Everything else was pretty standard. Fascinating stuff. I’d like to think that they’ll save my sequence and provide more and juicier information as the analysis technology advances…but I’m guessing that’s not how it works.

Today I ordered the kit through National Geographic. They are doing a five year study of historical human migratory patterns and I thought I should not put this off any longer. I know in 10-15 years I’d look back and say – I should have done that!!

You can check it out at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html

I just got my genetic test results from qtrait.com. The results aren’t uniformly interesting, but some of the stand outs are: I’m more likely to become an alcoholic (makes sense), more likely to be dyspeptic (true), a night owl (check), and less likely to smoke. A surprise was scoring 2 out of 2 on the obesity markers. Good to be on guard!

Here is the full genetic monty:

• Addiction to street drug use: CC (average)
• Alcohol processing: CC (more likely to become an alcoholic)
• Asthma: AT (medium to low risk)
• Bitter tasting ability: taster
• Codeine metabolism and nursing: Two CYP2D6 copies (average metabolizer of codeine)
• Coumarin-based drug dose (like Warfarin): high dose (slow or normal processing of coumarin-based drugs, meaning I need a higher dose of Warfarin)
• Dyspepsia (indigestion): CC (more likely to show dyspeptic symptoms)
• Early bird or night owl: CC (night owl)
• Eczema: GT (high risk)
• Glaucoma: no result yet
• Gluten sensitivity or celiac disease: No HLA-DQ2*0501 types (low risk)
• Hemochromatosis: GG (low risk)
• Initial response to smoking and drinking: GG(does not tend to report “strong” or “negative” effects from alcohol and nicotine consumption)
• Insomnia: CC (more likely to have a significant preference for evening time over morning)
• Insulin sensitivity in response to endurance training: CT (improvement in insulin sensitivity in response to exercise)
• Lactose intolerance/Lactose persistence: TT (very likely to be able to digest milk after childhood)
• Learning and Memory: CC (better than average)
• Mold sensitivity: GG (more likely to have mold allergies)
• Norwalk virus (the cruise ship sickness): AG (medium risk)
• Obesity (increased BMI): AT (up to 1.31 times more likely to be obese than those individuals with only T type copies.)
• Obesity II: CC (as much as 1.2-2.3 times more likely to be obese than other individuals)
• Odor perception: AG (less sensitive and more pleasurable response to certain odors)
• Physical performance, power vs. endurance v.1: CC (power, yes; endurance, no)
• Post-operative cognitive dysfunction: GG (average risk)
• Protection from Alcoholism: GG (able to process alcohol normally and may be as likely to become addicted to alcohol)
• Resistance to cannabis addiction: CC (more susceptible to THC dependence)
• Restless Legs Syndrome: TT (less likely to develop restless legs syndrome)
• Seasonal Affective Disorder: Normal risk
• Smoking addiction: CC (less likely to be a smoker)
• Variation in height: CC (on average ~.8 cm taller than non CC types

I volunteered for the beta of qtrait.com and got my results back yesterday. Here they are!

• Addiction to street drug use: CT (average)
• Alcohol processing: CT (less likely to become an alcoholic)
• Asthma: AT (medium to low risk)
• Bitter tasting ability: taster
• Codeine metabolism and nursing: Two CYP2D6 copies (average metabolizer of codeine)
• Coumarin-based drug dose (like Warfarin): high dose (slow or normal processing of coumarin-based drugs, meaning I need a higher dose of Warfarin)
• Dyspepsia (indigestion): CT (less likely to show dyspeptic symptoms)
• Early bird or night owl: CC (night owl)
• Eczema: GT (high risk)
• Glaucoma: CT (high risk)
• Gluten sensitivity or celiac disease: : No HLA-DQ2*0501 types (low risk)
• Hemochromatosis: GG (low risk)
• High or low colostrum production: CT (wet sticky ear wax)
• Initial response to smoking and drinking: GG (does not tend to report “strong” or “negative” effects from alcohol and nicotine consumption)
• Insulin sensitivity in response to endurance training: CT (improvement in insulin sensitivity in response to exercise)
• Lactose intolerance/Lactose persistence: CT (lactose persistent)
• Learning and Memory: CT (average on memory)
• Mold sensitivity: AG (higher chance of mold allergies)
• Norwalk virus (the cruise ship sickness): AG (medium risk)
• Obesity (increased BMI): TT (less likely to be obese)
• Obesity II: CG (no increased risk of obesity)
• Odor perception: GG (more sensitive and less pleasurable response to certain odors)
• Percentage body fat (70-79 year old individuals): lower body fat
• Physical performance, power vs. endurance: CT (got the good genes for this)
• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: CG (less likely to get this—I hope so!)
• Post-operative cognitive dysfunction: GG (average risk)
• Protection from Alcoholism: GG (able to process alcohol normally and may be as likely to become addicted to alcohol)
• Resistance to cannabis addiction: CC (more susceptible to THC dependence)
• Restless Legs Syndrome: TT (less likely to develop restless legs syndrome)
• Risk of preeclampsia: CT (more likely to report symptoms of preeclampsia, but it only happens in pregnancy)
• Seasonal Affective Disorder: Normal risk
• Smoking addiction: CT (more likely to be a smoker)
• Variation in height: CT (on average taller)
• VO2 max levels (oxygen levels in the blood): Lower VO2 max levels

That’s distilled from a really long document and a lot of information I had to sift through. Not sure if any of the information is super surprising or anything. I’m a night person, not fat, and I like drinking.

I need to look through it some more to figure out what else I can learn from it.

I sort of wish it would’ve told me more obvious stuff, like my hair color and eye color, just so I could build trust with the results and know that they are reliable. A lot of the results are pretty vague… but then again, perhaps the knowledge of genetics and their consequences are also very vague, since they don’t take into consideration the nature and environment factor.

Overall, a fun test. I’m gonna fill out the survey for them after I think about it a little more.

From QTrait. Wondering what kind of mutant I might be.