Estonia is offering residents free genetic profiling in an experiment aimed at minimizing risks for typical diseases and encouraging a healthier lifestyle through personalized data reports.
Researcher Lili Milani from with Estonian Genome Center at the University of Tartu said Thursday the scheme kicked off in March and will initially cover some 100,000 volunteers in the Baltic country of 1.3 million. Participants are required to donate DNA samples from blood and give consent to storing their data to the Estonian Biobank.
Milani said DNA samples will be analyzed for more than 600,000 genetic variants linked to common diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes and cancer. Family doctors will then tell participants about the results.
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