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Direct-to-consumer genetic testing for predicting sports performance and talent identification: Consensus statement

Nick Webborn, Alun Williams, Michael McNamee Orcid Logo, Claude Bouchard, Yannis Pitsiladis, Ildus Ahmetov, Euan Ashley, Nuala Byrne, Silvia Camporesi, Malcolm Collins, Paul Dijkstra, Nir Eynon, Noriyuki Fuku, Fleur C Garton, Nils Hoppe, Søren Holm, Jane Kaye, Vassilis Klissouras, Alejandro Lucia, Kamiel Maase, Colin Moran, Kathryn N North, Fabio Pigozzi, Guan Wang

British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume: 49, Issue: 23, Pages: 1486 - 1491

Swansea University Author: Michael McNamee Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095343

Abstract

The general consensus amongst sport and exercise genetics researchers is that genetic tests have norole to play in talent identification or the individualised prescription of training to maximise performance. Despite the lack of evidence, recent years have witnessed the rise of an emerging market of...

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Published in: British Journal of Sports Medicine
ISSN: 0306-3674 1473-0480
Published: BMJ 2015
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa24478
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Abstract: The general consensus amongst sport and exercise genetics researchers is that genetic tests have norole to play in talent identification or the individualised prescription of training to maximise performance. Despite the lack of evidence, recent years have witnessed the rise of an emerging market of Direct-to-Consumer marketing (DTC) tests that claim to be able to identify children’s athletic talents.Targeted consumers include mainly coaches and parents. There is concern amongst the scientific community that the current level of knowledge is being misrepresented for commercial purposes. There remains a lack of universally accepted guidelines and legislation for DTC testing in relation to all forms of genetic testing and not just for talent identification. There is concern over the lack of clarity of information over which specific genes or variants are being tested and the almost universal lack of appropriate genetic counselling for the interpretation of the genetic data to consumers. Furthermore independent studies have identified issues relating to quality control by DTC laboratories with different results being reported from samples from the same individual. Consequently, in the current state of knowledge, no child or young athlete should be exposed to DTC genetic testing to define or alter training or for talent identification aimed at selecting gifted children or adolescents. Large scale collaborative projects, may help to develop a stronger scientific foundation on these issues in the future.
Keywords: genetics talent identification testing ethics
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Issue: 23
Start Page: 1486
End Page: 1491

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