Genetic profiling is reshaping preventive healthcare by identifying hidden health risks long before symptoms appear. Through a simple DNA test, individuals can uncover genetic markers linked to conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
New Delhi:
It may seem like an irony that the body can raise an alarm like a high fever for a simple infection that can resolve on its own, but raises no kind of alarm for killer diseases like cardiovascular diseases and cancers that have no easy cures.
These diseases can develop silently, and even progress silently, until an event like a heart attack, stroke or organ failure happens. But in reality, this is no irony, but a beneficial design by the divine. Because these diseases are not caused by singular exposures to pathogens, like in infections, but due to repetitive ‘injury’ by way of poor lifestyles for years. If the body raised an alarm for every unhealthy meal, or every sedentary hour, or every lost hour of sleep, life would become so uncomfortable.
Dr Sajeev Nair, Founder & Chairman of Vieroots, There is also another reason why the design is so. A poor lifestyle factor, like say frequenting sugary desserts, may not trigger diabetes in you if you don’t have the genes responsible for diabetes. He has outlined 5 silent killer diseases, and how genetic profiling can detect your risks for developing those diseases before it is too late:
The Silence of High BP
Hypertension has been the original silent killer. Despite stereotypes of those with high BP exhibiting aggressive behaviours, the reality is that it has no symptoms in the initial stages. No wonder then that around 46% of high BP patients live undiagnosed. But a genetic test would easily predict it as the genetic component of BP is up to 60%, with gene families like RAAS, SNPs, endothelial genes & others causing it.
The Silence of Cardiovascular Diseases
As many recent young deaths illustrate, including those of very fit celebrities, the silence of cardiovascular diseases is the most deadly. Around 50% of those with coronary artery disease (CAD) or heart failure are living undiagnosed. This is even while the genetic component for such diseases is as high as 60%, which a genetic test could have easily detected years or decades before a heart attack or stroke.
The Silence of High Cholesterol
High cholesterol beats both high BP and cardiovascular diseases in being super silent. Despite a culture of periodic tests in the US, around 40% of high cholesterol and over 90% of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) go undiagnosed. So you can imagine the Indian scenario. This could be avoided through a genetic test, as high cholesterol has a 50% genetic component, whereas in monogenic FH, the genetic component is 100%.
The Silence of Diabetes
You have heard about the diabetes symptoms – excessive hunger, thirst, fatigue & urination. But that is only after it has developed, and also not seen in all. It is super silent during the pre-diabetic stage, and it is estimated that in India, over 50% of type 2 diabetics are living undiagnosed. But a genetic test can provide a warning before it is too late, as it is polygenic in nature, with the genetic component a high 70%.
The Silence of Cancer
It is more common to hear about stage-4 cancers, hinting at their silent development. Some cancers, like ovarian, cervical and pancreatic, are notorious for their super silent spread. The prevalence of late-stage diagnoses ranges from 60-70%. This is an avoidable situation as some genetic variants like TP53 are found in 50% of all cancers, whereas others like BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 & MUTYH are also common.
How Genetic Profiling Helps in Preventing Silent Diseases
A genomic lifestyle management solution like Eplimo can detect not only the genetic risks for the above 5 silent killers, but the risks for developing 275+ lifestyle diseases – most of them silent – in one go and before it is too late. It can then suggest personalised lifestyle modifications spanning diet, nutrition, supplements, exercise, yoga, breathwork, meditation, etc that are research validated to keep the detected diseases at bay.
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