DNA tells a story. Do you want to know yours?

What types of DNA results can All of Us give me?

When you enroll in the All of Us Research Program, you join an unprecedented effort to meet one goal: speed up health research. Studying DNA is a key part of this effort. One side benefit of participating is that you can get your DNA results over time.

We plan to look at different types of information in your DNA.

This will include information about:

Genetic ancestry groups you might see:

Here are the genetic ancestry groups that All of Us currently compares DNA with:

  • The Americas, which includes North, Central, and South America
  • Eastern and Northern Asia, such as China or Mongolia
  • Europe, including Russia and the Mediterranean
  • The Middle East and North Africa
  • Oceania, such as Papua New Guinea or Fiji
  • Southern Asia, such as India or the Arabian Peninsula
  • Sub-Saharan Africa

These groups cover pretty big areas of the world. As we learn more about genetic ancestry, we plan to be able to update these groups or add more specific groups. If we do so, you might get an update with a more detailed look into your genetic ancestry.

Your Genetic Traits

We plan to look at different types of information in your DNA. We expect this will include information about your genetic traits. Traits are characteristics or features of a person. They can be related to a person’s appearance (such as hair color or eye color) or to other features, like how we taste or smell things.

To start, here are some of the genetic traits you could learn about if you tell us you want your DNA results:

  • Lactose intolerance (If you have trouble digesting dairy products like milk or ice cream)
  • Earwax (If you have wet or dry earwax)
  • Bitter taste perception (If you taste bitterness in food more than others)
  • Cilantro preference (If cilantro tastes like soap to you or not)

Health-related results from All of Us

Hereditary Disease Risk
This report looks at your genetic risk of developing certain serious health conditions, including certain cancers or heart disease. Knowing this information could help you take steps to prevent or identify a health condition early on.

Health-related results from All of Us

Medicine and Your DNA
This report looks at how your body might react to certain medicines. The technical word for this kind of information is “pharmacogenetics.”

What do I need to do to get my DNA results?

 

If you want your DNA results, your first steps are to:

  1. Create an All of Us participant account and complete the Consent to Join the All of Us Research Program to participate in the program.
  2. Agree to share your electronic health records (EHRs).*
  3. Go through the Consent to Get DNA Results and tell us you want your DNA results.*
  4. Complete The Basics survey.*
  5. When invited to do so, provide your blood or saliva samples. Keep your email and/or mobile phone number up to date in your All of Us account.

*You can participate in All of Us without completing Steps 2-4, but we generally will invite you to provide blood or saliva samples only if you have completed them. You need to provide a sample in order to get DNA results. We also encourage you to complete all of the surveys available in your account.

Medicine and Your DNA