Led by researchers in Australia, an international team of scientists uncovered <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008725">new genetic associations</a> for allergies, asthma, and eczema by studying how soon in life individuals developed those conditions.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dandelion-Allergies-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-26256 size-medium" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dandelion-Allergies-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dandelion-Allergies-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dandelion-Allergies-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dandelion-Allergies-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dandelion-Allergies-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dandelion-Allergies.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
 
The researchers identified 76 genetic variants associated with these sorts of allergic diseases in or near 18 different genes. They found that about 50 of the variants are associated with both a higher risk for developing allergic diseases and developing one of these conditions at a very early age.
<h6>Genetic Burden </h6>
The significance of the finding is that it can help determine the overall “genetic burden” for developing allergies, or asthma or eczema, according to the co-lead author of the study Manuel Ferreira, Ph.D., a specialist in the genetics of asthma formerly at the<a href="https://www.qimrberghofer.edu.au/"> QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute</a> in Brisbane, Australia.

In this <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008725">study</a>, the findings indicate that people with the highest genetic risk are likely developing one of these conditions earliest in life. Those with the lowest genetic risk may never develop symptoms. Using this insight also helped researchers identify new genetic associations for these conditions.
 
While genetics plays an important role, environmental factors also influence the risk of developing an allergic condition. But the findings will help researchers better understand why and how allergic disease develops in some individuals and not others, as well as understand the genetic influences.
<h6>Overlapping Risk</h6>
Ferreira, now at Regeneron, previously worked on a study that found<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.3985"> overlapping genetic risk</a> factors for allergic diseases, such as asthma and hay fever, which used data from 23andMe. 
 
For this study, the researchers used data from the dozens of previously published genome-wide association studies for allergic disease — some of which included data from 23andMe, as well as the UK Biobank and others.

You can read the full study in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008725">PLOS Genetics.</a>

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Researchers Identify New Genetic Associations for Allergies, Asthma and Eczema

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything: from how we work, learn, and interact, to how active, or inactive, we are each day.
<h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-28320 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Figure-1-Steps-300x261.png" alt="" width="300" height="261" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Figure-1-Steps-300x261.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Figure-1-Steps-1024x889.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Figure-1-Steps-768x667.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Figure-1-Steps-880x764.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Figure-1-Steps-1180x1025.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Figure-1-Steps.png 1598w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Less Walking</h2>
People are walking a lot less and sleeping more since efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 began in March, according to new data compiled by 23andMe. Researchers looked at data from 33,000 individuals, who consented to participate in research, and included about 20 million data points tracking more than two months of activity. While we know the virus itself presents serious health risks, these changes in daily behavior may also impact our health in more subtle ways.
“It really comes down to the small everyday things; the commute to work, dropping the kids at daycare or school, the grocery store runs, the walk to get lunch,” said Teresa Filshtein Sonmez, Ph.D., a 23andMe Research Biostatistician, who is a part of the team looking at the data. “All the small everyday physical actions we take add up.&#8221;
<h2>Disrupting Routines</h2>
Teresa noted that while we are sheltering-in-place, we are not doing those things.
&#8220;We know the pandemic is disrupting our lives, but we also want to understand how these changes may affect our health,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We want to understand COVID-19 and the impacts it has, from every angle (not just the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/blood-type-and-covid-19/">genetic one</a>!); e.g., what is the &#8216;health cost&#8217; of 1000 less steps a day? &#8221;

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-28307 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/steps-by-day-of-the-week-300x186.png" alt="" width="300" height="186" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/steps-by-day-of-the-week-300x186.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/steps-by-day-of-the-week.png 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Since U.S. residents first began sheltering in place, the daily number of steps taken on average dropped by 22 percent, according to 23andMe’s data. (See Figure 1.) This data came from customers who have consented to participate in research and are sharing data from either iPhones or Apple Watches. The observed pattern is even more striking on weekends. (See Figure 2.) For example, since shelter-in-place policies were enacted, the average number of steps taken on Sundays decreased by about 35 percent. In comparison, during the same period in 2019, the number of daily steps actually increased, likely due to better weather and longer spring days.
<h2>Differences between Groups</h2>
The 23andMe analysis also compared step data across genders and age groups. While we did not observe substantial differences between men and women, the age patterns told a different story. Grouped by age, we found that activity declined within each age group, but for younger individuals, this reduction in activity was especially profound. Before the shelter in place orders, people in their 20s &#8211; 40s had the most steps, but since mid-March, the physical activity patterns have reversed&#8211; with the people in their 20s experiencing the most drastic decrease.  (See Figure 3.)
<div id="attachment_28308" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28308" class="wp-image-28308 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Weekend-steps-300x219.png" alt="" width="300" height="219" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Weekend-steps-300x219.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Weekend-steps.png 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Figure 3. Step totals by age group before and after shelter in place orders.</div>
The sleep data is a little more challenging to understand because our data come from smart devices rather than sleep trackers. Specifically, we know how long each device has been inactive at night. From that data, we can see that device inactivity increased by about an hour and a half (+12%) during the week. When we dove a little deeper into the device inactivity period, we saw that this extra 1.5 hours of inactivity was restricted to the morning. (See Figure 4.)  In other words, compared to pre-COVID behavior, people seem to be putting their devices down for the night at approximately the same time, but they are starting their days (or initiating device use) a little bit later each day. While device inactivity is not a direct measure of sleep, our data show a substantial change in our customers’ behavior.
<h2><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-28309 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Device-Inactivity-sleep-300x257.png" alt="" width="300" height="257" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Device-Inactivity-sleep-300x257.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Device-Inactivity-sleep.png 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Parents and Families</h2>
Sheltering-in-place has not only transformed the lives of adults, confining most of us to working from home but has also led to the closures of most schools and daycare centers. To explore how these changes affected parents’ activity levels, we compared both daily steps and average wake-up time across individuals with and without children living at home.*  We observed that COVID-related physical activity changes were more dramatic for individuals without children, especially among men.
On average, in the two weeks since the shelter-in-place ordinances, men without children walked 26% less than in the preceding two weeks, while men with children only reduced their step count by 10%.  Similarly, women without children had a step reduction of 25%, compared to only 20% for mothers. In addition, the median change in the wake-up time for men without children was about 25 minutes greater than it was for fathers. However, we saw only a slight change in this same measure among women. While this could be explained by women sleeping more, it is also possible that women just pick up their devices later in the morning. In fact, other <a href="https://ww2.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2020/onlineprogram/AbstractDetails.cfm?abstractid=313088">studies by 23andMe scientists</a> have explored gender differences in activity vs. phone use behaviors.
<h2>Other Published Data</h2>
Our findings are consistent with other published evidence on the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 epidemic. Fitbit&#8211; a fitness tracker manufacturer&#8211; recently<a href="https://blog.fitbit.com/covid-19-global-activity/"> published data</a> showing that in early March, the number of average steps taken by their millions of users has dropped by between 7 percent and 38 percent, depending on the country. Predictably, the largest decreases were in countries suffering the most serious outbreaks, like Spain and Italy. For the U.S., the activity changes reported by Fitbit were modest compared to 23andMe’s data. However, Fitbit only considered data from one week in March whereas 23andMe examined several months’ worth of activity patterns.
This small sampling of the data shows just how much the pandemic has disrupted people’s lives. These changes in activity and sleep may have a lasting health impact that is not captured by infection rates but can compellingly be attributed to the pandemic.
*This analysis was limited to participants in the 20-50 age group.

One Thousand Steps Less During COVID-19

Editor&#8217;s note 9/5/23: Thanks to all our readers for their questions on this post. Please note, 23andMe does not currently offer a report on blood type, and our COVID-19 research is now complete. See the findings from our <a class="waffle-rich-text-link" href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/covid-19-three-years-in">COVID-19 Study here</a>.



Preliminary data from 23andMe’s ongoing genetic study of COVID-19 appears to lend more evidence for the importance of a person’s blood type — determined by the ABO gene — in differences in the susceptibility to the virus.



While 23andMe researchers continue to explore the implications of this data, we&#8217;re also continuing to provide important genetic health information to our customers. <a class="waffle-rich-text-link" href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">Compare our DNA tests</a> to learn more about our services.



23andMe is still recruiting for its <a href="https://you.23andme.com/covid19-study/">massive study</a>, most recently seeking <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-expands-covid-study/">10,000 participants</a> outside of 23andMe who have been hospitalized and diagnosed with COVID-19. (Note: Currently, only those living in the U.S. are eligible to participate in this study.) 23andMe researchers have yet to finish looking at what the genetic data indicate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-first-look">A First Look</h2>



But a first blush look at the information from the more than 750,000 participants in the study shows the following:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The preliminary data suggest that O blood type appears to be protective against the virus when compared to all other blood types.</li>



<li>Individuals with O blood type are between 9-18% percent less likely than individuals with other blood types to have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the data.</li>



<li>There appeared to be little differences in susceptibility among the other blood types.</li>



<li>These findings hold when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, ethnicity, and co-morbidities.</li>



<li>Although <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.08.20058073v1.full.pdf">one study</a> found the blood group O only to be protective across rhesus positive blood types, differences in rhesus factor (blood type + or -) were not significant in 23andMe data. Nor was this a factor in susceptibility or severity in cases.</li>



<li>Among those exposed to the virus — healthcare and other front line workers — 23andMe found that blood type O is similarly protective, but the proportion of cases within strata is higher.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preliminary-genetic-association">Preliminary Genetic Association</h2>



While it is still very early in the study, 23andMe’s preliminary investigation into genetics seems to support these findings. We&#8217;ve compared the research participants who reported that they tested positive for COVID-19 to those who tested negative. Our researchers identified a variant in the ABO gene associated with a lower risk. (The single nucleotide polymorphism in the ABO gene is rs505922, a T at that location is associated with lower risk. The P-value for the association is 1.4e-8, OR = 0.88).



Both the data on blood type and the preliminary genetic findings also appear to support at least two recently published pre-print studies — one by <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.11.20031096v2">researchers in China</a> and the most recent one by <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.31.20114991v1">researchers in Italy and Spain</a> — that look at the ABO gene’s role in COVID-19. The study in China looked at susceptibility, while the Italian and Spanish study found an association with blood type and severity of the illness.



Numerous other studies have reported that the ABO blood group plays a role in both susceptibility and severity for COVID-19 (refs: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.11.20031096v2">1</a>, <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.31.20114991v1">2,</a> <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.31.20114991v1">3</a>). We know from <a href="https://cmr.asm.org/content/28/3/801">other studies</a> that the ABO blood group can play a direct role in other types of infections. This is because it serves as receptors, or coreceptors for microorganisms, parasites, and viruses. The preliminary findings from 23andMe’s data are also notable because of the link between COVID-19 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01403-8">blood clotting</a>, and <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2007621">cardiovascular disease</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comparing-blood-types">Comparing Blood Types</h2>



23andMe researchers wanted to investigate this link with blood type, so we estimated the contribution to risk by comparing each blood group against each of the others. Because the differences are quite small, an extremely large sample size is needed to explore differences across groups. For 23andMe’s study, which now includes more than 750,000 individuals, we investigated the cumulative incidence of self-reported COVID-19 by blood type, hospitalization by blood type, and proportion of those infected after known exposure by blood type.



Here is what we found.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="185" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Table-1-Comparison-by-Blood-Type-300x185.png" alt="A chart showing the percent of 23andMe research participants who tested positive for COVID-19 by blood group" class="wp-image-28288" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Table-1-Comparison-by-Blood-Type-300x185.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Table-1-Comparison-by-Blood-Type-768x475.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Table-1-Comparison-by-Blood-Type-880x544.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Table-1-Comparison-by-Blood-Type.png 922w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Percent of 23andMe research participants who tested positive for COVID-19, by blood group.</figcaption></figure>



Among respondents to the 23andMe COVID-19 survey, the percent of respondents reporting a positive test for COVID-19 is lowest for people who are O blood type. The percent of respondents reporting a positive test for COVID-19 was highest among those with the AB blood type.



Those who were blood groups A, B, and AB did not statistically differ from each other (Table 1 Below). This relationship holds after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, race, ethnicity, and co-morbidities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-at-those-with-higher-probability-for-exposure-to-covid-19">Looking at Those with Higher Probability for Exposure to COVID-19</h2>



<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.08.20058073v1.full.pdf">One study</a> found the blood group O protective only across rhesus positive blood types. But in 23andMe’s data we found that differences by self-reported rhesus factor (blood type + or -) were not significant. Neither was the interaction between blood group and rhesus factor in statistical models predicting being a case, or being a hospitalized case.



To better understand the risk of acquiring the infection, we restricted the data to those with a high probability of exposure. This included professional health care workers. These would be individuals with close contact with known cases, and essential workers. As you can see below, blood type O shows a similar pattern as seen above. But the proportion of cases within strata is higher, as we would expect.



After adjustment for age, age squared, sex, race (census race categories), ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino), BMI, and a single variable indicating a vulnerability to severe infection (e.g. high-risk co-morbidity or immunocompromised) blood type O showed a protective effect against both acquiring (OR = 0.86, p &lt; 0.0001), and being hospitalized for the infection (OR = 0.81, p = 0.05). The protective effect of acquiring the infection strengthened in models restricted to the “exposed” population (OR = 0.81, p &lt; 0.0001). (Table 1).



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="292" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Case-v-Controls-Outcomes-Table-1024x292.png" alt="A chart showing cases and controls and the odds ratios" class="wp-image-28291" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Case-v-Controls-Outcomes-Table-1024x292.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Case-v-Controls-Outcomes-Table-300x85.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Case-v-Controls-Outcomes-Table-768x219.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Case-v-Controls-Outcomes-Table-880x251.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Case-v-Controls-Outcomes-Table-1180x336.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Case-v-Controls-Outcomes-Table.png 1502w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Table 1. Adjusted Odds Ratios (ORs) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) estimating the effect of blood type O compared to all other blood types for the risk of infection (case v control) or hospitalization. An OR is a statistic that quantifies the strength of the association between a measurement and an outcome, while a Confidence Interval is a range of values that is likely to contain the true unknown value.</figcaption></figure>



In the whole population, those with the O blood group were 9-18% less likely to test positive compared to the other groups. When looking at only exposed individuals, those with O blood group were 13-26% less likely to test positive.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="185" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Blood-Type-for-Exposed-Individuals-1-300x185.png" alt="A chart showing blood type for people exposed to COVID-19" class="wp-image-28292" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Blood-Type-for-Exposed-Individuals-1-300x185.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Blood-Type-for-Exposed-Individuals-1-768x475.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Blood-Type-for-Exposed-Individuals-1-880x544.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Blood-Type-for-Exposed-Individuals-1.png 922w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-"><code style="display: none;"> 
</code><code style="display: none;"></code></h6>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-still-recruiting">Still Recruiting</h2>



23andMe launched its COVID-19 study on April 6th. We invited customers to participate in the large-scale study looking at whether genetics could help explain the differences in <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/covid-19-severity-calculator">severity among patients</a>. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="624" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Exposed-population-1024x624.jpg" alt="A chart showing the percent of those exposed to COVID-19 who were diagnosed with it." class="wp-image-28293" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Exposed-population-1024x624.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Exposed-population-300x183.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Exposed-population-768x468.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Exposed-population-880x536.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Exposed-population.jpg 1044w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Percent reporting positive test for COVID-19 among those with a high probability of exposure (health care professionals, essential workers, and those experiencing personal contact with a diagnosed case), by blood group.</figcaption></figure>



In May, the study was <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-expands-covid-study/">expanded.</a> We added individuals outside of 23andMe who have experienced severe COVID-19 symptoms. The <a href="https://you.23andme.com/covid19-study/">expanded study</a>, in which 23andMe is providing 10,000 kits free of charge, aims to identify individuals who tested positive and were hospitalized for COVID-19. As part of the research, participants answer survey questions. These are questions about whether they’ve experienced cold or flu-like symptoms for instance. We also ask whether they’ve been diagnosed or<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/mapping-genetics-of-covid-19"> treated for COVID-19</a>, and whether they’ve been hospitalized for the illness.



The study and recruitment are ongoing. We hope that we can use our research platform to better understand differences in how people respond to the virus. Ultimately, we hope to publish our research findings. We want to provide more insight into COVID-19 for the scientific community.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learn-more">Learn More</h2>



Find out if your <a href="https://www.23andme.com/test-info/genetic-health/">genetics</a> might Increase your risk for any health conditions with 23andMe.

A logo for 23andMe's COVID-19 Research Study

Blood type may play a role in COVID-19 

A new study that relied on data from more than four million 23andMe customers, may help speed efforts now underway to find drug targets for treating Parkinson&#8217;s disease.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-3133 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/parkinsonsdisease.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="236" />Working with researchers at 23andMe, scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, were able to identify a very rare group of individuals who have what are called &#8220;loss of function&#8221; alleles in the gene LRRK2. These 1,400 individuals also do not appear any more or less healthy than those without the loss of function alleles, even though the alleles have essentially turned off the function of one of their LRRK2 genes.
This finding, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0893-5">Nature Medicine</a>, gives drug hunters looking for new treatments more evidence that they may be able to safely target that gene, which is the most common genetic cause for Parkinson&#8217;s.

<h6>Collaborating and Leveraging Data</h6>
The paper was one of <a href="https://www.broadinstitute.org/node/629796">seven published </a>by the researchers using data from Broad&#8217;s <a href="https://www.nature.com/immersive/d42859-020-00002-x/index.html">Genome Aggregation Database</a> (gnomAD), which brings together exome and sequence data from many sources for researchers. Leveraging that data, the researchers looked not just at Parkinson’s disease, but also developed a catalog of human variation, insights into population genetics, disease association, and diagnostic screening.
A grant from the <a href="https://www.michaeljfox.org/">Michael J. Fox Foundation</a> helped pay for the work on the LRRK2 paper, which included essential contributions from scientists at Imperial College London, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The study also included data from the <a href="https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">UK Biobank</a> and Broad&#8217;s gnomAD.
&#8220;The study is another illustration of the immense value of 23andMe&#8217;s data,&#8221; said Paul Cannon Ph.D., 23andMe&#8217;s Parkinson&#8217;s disease research manager. &#8220;Having this very large genetically and phenotypically characterized cohort offers novel opportunities to look for evidence of any potential safety concerns for drugs for targets like these, which individuals at risk of developing Parkinson’s, may end up taking chronically, perhaps for decades .&#8221;
<h6>Looking at LRRK2</h6>
As part of their work, the researchers were also able to confirm many known loss of function variants in the LRRK2 gene, which are extremely rare. But the researchers also found that about 1,400 individuals in the 23andMe database carried one of three loss of function variants. The 23andMe data includes extensive health as well as other <a href="https://www.23andme.com/research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">phenotypic information</a>. This allowed researchers to determine that those individuals did not appear to be suffering health effects from that loss of function.
In most cases, the cause of Parkinson&#8217;s disease is unknown. There is a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors at play that lead to the development of the disease. But in the last decade, researchers have identified variants in a handful of genes, including <a href="https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/LRRK2#normalfunction">LRRK2</a>, associated with developing Parkinson&#8217;s disease. In the case of LRRK2 a variant in the gene is associated with the overproduction of certain proteins in the brain. Scientists have long believed that one avenue for treating the disease may lie in modifying, or &#8220;down-regulating&#8221; the function of the LRRK2 gene. Still, they want to better understand whether that can be done safely.
&#8220;These results suggest that drugs that reduce LRRK2 kinase activity are unlikely to show toxicity due to on-target effects,&#8221; the researchers state in the paper.

Large Study Offers Insight into Parkinson’s

(Editor&#8217;s note 5/: Although 23andMe researchers continue to work on the COVID-19 study we are no longer recruiting new customers as study participants. Existing 23andMe customers can still complete the survey and can contribute to the study <a href="https://you.23andme.com/research/surveys/covid_19_baseline/">here.)</a> 

Encouraged by strong interest, 23andMe is expanding its COVID-19 genetics study and opening enrollment to people who have been hospitalized with severe cases of the virus but are not currently 23andMe customers.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-28267 size-larger" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FB-Twitter-1200x628-1-880x461.png" alt="" width="880" height="461" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FB-Twitter-1200x628-1-880x461.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FB-Twitter-1200x628-1-300x157.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FB-Twitter-1200x628-1-1024x536.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FB-Twitter-1200x628-1-768x402.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FB-Twitter-1200x628-1-1180x618.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/FB-Twitter-1200x628-1.png 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 880px) 100vw, 880px" />
Launched on April 6th to existing 23andMe customers who have consented for research,<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/covid-19-genetic-study/"> the study</a> aims to enlist hundreds of thousands of individuals to determine if there are genetic factors associated with why the virus hits some people so much harder than others. Beginning today, anyone who is eligible will be able to <a href="http://you.23andme.com/covid19-study">enroll in the study</a>, which is no longer limited to just 23andMe customers.

<h6>Hundreds of Thousands of Participants</h6>
23andMe has already enrolled more than half a million participants in its COVID-19 study, including more than 7,000 who&#8217;ve been diagnosed with the virus. We hope to continue to add more as we gradually reach out to our millions of customers. We are now expanding the study to up to 10,000 individuals who have been hospitalized with severe cases of COVID-19 but are not currently 23andMe customers. Individuals who qualify for the study and are willing to participate in online surveys will receive the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">23andMe Health + Ancestry Service</a> at no cost. (Learn more about the study and eligibility <a href="http://you.23andme.com/covid19-study">here</a>.)
“Opening up the research to individuals with more severe symptoms will increase our power to learn how genes play a role in the severity of this disease,” said Joyce Tung, Ph.D., 23andMe’s Vice President of Research.
In addition, 23andMe is encouraging hospitals and healthcare systems that are interested in collaborating on this research to reach out to us at <a href="mailto:apply.research@23andme.com">apply.research@23andme.com</a>.
<h6>23andMe&#8217;s Unique Research Model</h6>
Our research platform allows 23andMe to not only reach out to current customers, but also quickly recruit and genotype new research participants. We can then survey those participants, and conduct genetic studies at a massive scale.
There is still much scientists do not know about this virus. It is also possible that 23andMe will not find strong genetic associations for the differences in the severity of symptoms. But we know from research that<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/genetics-and-covid-19-severity/"> genetics plays a role</a> in both susceptibility to and severity of other infectious diseases. For example, variants in the HBB gene influence an individual’s susceptibility to malaria.  Variants in the FUT2 gene confer some resistance to the norovirus. And variants in the HLA genes may explain the differences in the immune response to several different infections. In the case of COVID-19, there are several questions about whether genetics may explain the differences in immune response among patients. Our study could aid in assessing differences in risk among individuals. It could also guide efforts now underway to treat the disease caused by the virus.
<h6>Studying at Differences in Severity</h6>
Enrolling more individuals who have experienced severe COVID-19 symptoms in the study will enable 23andMe to investigate a spectrum of how people experience this disease. By studying those with severe symptoms versus patients with moderate or mild symptoms, 23andMe researchers will be in a better position to uncover potential genetic factors associated with the severity of the disease.
If we are successful in gathering enough data for this genome-wide association study, we plan to share the results of our research with the broader scientific community. We will also continue to consider the expansion of enrollment and eligibility requirements for the study.
If you or someone you know has been hospitalized for COVID-19 and is interested in participating in this research you can find out more <a href="http://you.23andme.com/covid19-study">here</a>.
<hr />
<h6>References:</h6>
1)<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22310894"> Chapman SJ et al. (2012). “Human genetic susceptibility to infectious disease.” Nat Rev Genet. 13(3):175-88.</a>
2) <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28928442">Tian C et al. (2017). “Genome-wide association and HLA region fine-mapping studies identify susceptibility loci for multiple common infections.” Nat Commun. 8(1):599.</a>

23andMe Expands its Genetic Study of COVID-19

Many people who carry a BRCA genetic variant associated with an increased risk for breast, ovarian, prostate, and certain other cancers do not have a strong family history of cancer, according to a new study from 23andMe. This means that these individuals would likely not qualify for clinical genetic testing unless they developed cancer themselves, representing a missed opportunity for cancer prevention.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/BRCA-wide-image-1-300x192.png" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-26127 size-medium" width="300" height="192" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/BRCA-wide-image-1-300x192.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/BRCA-wide-image-1.png 318w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-63466-x">Scientific Reports</a>, could help inform the on-going discussion around broader access to BRCA genetic testing.  
&#8220;Our study suggests that many individuals with a BRCA variant are likely being missed under current testing criteria,&#8221; said Ruth Tennen Ph.D., a 23andMe Product Scientist and a co-author of the study. 
<h6>Cancer History and Ashkenazi Ancestry </h6>
The study is consistent with findings from other researchers suggesting many individuals who carry BRCA risk variants slip through the cracks in current testing. A recent study by <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2703131">researchers at Geisinger</a> reported that more than 80 percent of people with a BRCA variant did not know they have one.
Current clinical criteria for BRCA genetic testing include having a personal or <a href="https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/document/RecommendationStatementFinal/brca-related-cancer-risk-assessment-genetic-counseling-and-genetic-testing">family history of cancer</a>. Having Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry is also taken into consideration. 
But the 23andMe study found that a significant number of individuals with one of three BRCA risk variants common among Ashkenazi Jews have no known first-degree family history of a BRCA-related cancer or no known Jewish ancestry. 
About 44 percent of individuals who provided both ancestry and family health history information had no first-degree relative with a BRCA-related cancer, the study found. The researchers also found that 21 percent of individuals who had one of the three Ashkenazi Jewish BRCA1 or BRCA2 founder variants did not report having Jewish ancestry. But of those individuals, more than half did have detectable Ashkenazi Jewish genetic ancestry. In the absence of a personal history of cancer, these individuals would have been unlikely to qualify for clinical genetic testing, and would have been left unaware of their risk. 
<h6>23andMe Study Details</h6>
The study included data from more than 2,800 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research. All of those individuals carry one or more of the three genetic variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes included in 23andMe&#8217;s BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk report* that are associated with an increased risk for breast, ovarian, prostate, and certain other cancers. 
While these three variants are most commonly found in people of Ashkenazi ancestry, they confer significant risk no matter a person&#8217;s ancestry. The prevalence of these three variants is about 1 in 40 in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. In the general population, about 1 in 300 to 1 in 800 individuals has a BRCA variant, although typically not one of the three variants included in 23andMe&#8217;s report. Women with a BRCA variant have a 45-85 percent chance of developing breast cancer and up to a 46 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer by age 70. Men with a BRCA variant have an increased risk for male breast cancer and may have an increased risk for prostate cancer. Having one of these variants may also increase the risk for pancreatic cancer and melanoma.
<h6>23andMe&#8217;s Genetic Health Risk Report</h6>
<div id="attachment_26897" style="width: 272px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26897" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Speak-BRCA-262x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26897 size-medium" width="262" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Speak-BRCA-262x300.jpg 262w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Speak-BRCA.jpg 376w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px" />You can learn more about BRCA <a href="https://www.23andme.com/brca/">here</a>.</div>
It&#8217;s important to understand that 23andMe&#8217;s BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk <a href="https://www.23andme.com/test-info/genetic-health/">report</a>* looks at just three genetic variants associated with increased risk for breast, ovarian, prostate, and certain other cancers. 23andMe is still the only company <a href="https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm599560.htm">with FDA authorization</a> to offer direct-to-consumer genetic health risk reports for cancer predisposition. The report is by no means a comprehensive screen, nor is it meant to be diagnostic. There are more than 1,000 other BRCA variants associated with increased cancer risk.
This study focused on just the three variants 23andMe tests for because they have been analytically validated on the most recent versions of 23andMe&#8217;s genotyping chip. For these three risk variants, 23andMe has demonstrated a greater than 99 percent accuracy and reproducibility in testing. 
Several years ago, 23andMe conducted a smaller study looking at the response to <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/8/">unexpected BRCA</a> findings. That study found that those who learned they carried a risk variant generally took appropriate actions, talking to their doctors and sharing their results with family members, creating what the study called a &#8220;cascade effect&#8221; that benefited relatives who might not know of the family risk for these hereditary cancers.
The 23andMe study published this week may help inform discussions about broader access to BRCA<a href="https://www.23andme.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> genetic testing</a>. 
&nbsp;
*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks, including the 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants). Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. The test is not intended to diagnose any disease and does not describe a person&#8217;s overall risk of developing any type of cancer. It is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatments. Warnings &amp; Limitations: The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health RIsk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of the 185delAG and 5382insC variants in the BRCA1 gene and the 6174delT variant in the BRCA2 gene. The report describes if a woman is at increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and if a man is at increased risk of developing breast cancer or may be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The three variants included in this report are most common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and do not represent the majority of BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in the general population. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed in a clinical setting before taking any medical action. 
&nbsp;

New 23andMe BRCA Study Published

By Stella Aslibekyan, Briana Cameron and Teresa Filshtein



A <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/23andme-explores-dietary-habit-and-health-outcomes/">recent 23andMe blog post</a> explored the old adage “you are what you eat,” examining the relationship between eating habits and their health outcomes.



However, we wanted to explore another dimension of the data. We wanted to see if where you live is associated with what you eat. So rather than looking at “you are what you eat,” we want to see whether “You eat where you are.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dietary-geography">Dietary Geography</h2>



Years of scientific research have brought us to the almost undeniable conclusion that the food you eat affects health outcomes, especially later in life. However, dietary habits can be influenced by many different factors. Some of those factors include personal food preferences, local policy, availability of options, and cultural ones, like the habits of those around us. (See our new paper on <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.14.20058263v1">dietary habits research</a> and the sidebar to this post, &#8220;A New Recipe for Nutritional Studies.&#8221;)



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="283" height="424" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mediterranean-diet.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17819" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mediterranean-diet.jpg 283w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mediterranean-diet-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 283px) 100vw, 283px" /></figure>



Being aware of external factors influencing your dietary habits could be a first step to making changes that might reduce your risk of adverse health outcomes such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular events, accelerated aging, and more.[1] One external factor is location, as public health research has shown how “food deserts”&nbsp; — urban and rural neighborhoods without grocery stores — have contributed to poor health outcomes. At 23andMe, we have a unique opportunity to explore the connections between diet and geography.



Our scientists analyzed data from more than 750,000 23andMe customers who consented to participate in the research and shared details about their eating habits. Our results focused on four major food categories: vegetable and fruit intake, sugar intake (added sugar intake and sugar-sweetened beverages), red meat intake, and dairy intake. Vegetables, fruit, and dairy were measured in cups per day; sugar was measured in teaspoons per day, and red meat was measured in times eaten per day.



We found distinct differences in eating habits among broad regions in the United States and between urban and rural environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dietary-habits-in-the-us">Dietary Habits in the US</h2>



The map clearly shows that people in the West and Northeast eat more fruit and vegetables, while those in the Central and Southern U.S. eat more sugar. Below are some nutrition maps across the U.S. Each map represents a visualization of self-reported consumption by county. In each map, red indicates consumption levels associated with BMI increases.



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="376" data-id="30711" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Fruit-Map.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30711" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Fruit-Map.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Fruit-Map-300x220.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People in the West and Northeast consume more fruit.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="376" data-id="30707" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Dairy-Map.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30707" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Dairy-Map.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Dairy-Map-300x220.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Northern US consumes greater amounts of dairy than the Southern half, with the highest consumption in the northern Central region. </figcaption></figure>
</figure>



The maps represent the average self-reported consumption of each dietary factor at the county level; counties with less than 5 participants were not evaluated and show up in white on the map to protect our participants&#8217; privacy. 



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="376" data-id="30706" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Vegetables-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30706" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Vegetables-1.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Vegetables-1-300x220.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People in the West and Northeast also eat more vegetables.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="376" data-id="30709" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Sugar.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30709" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Sugar.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mean-Sugar-300x220.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sugar consumption in the US followed a pattern opposite to that of vegetables and fruits, with the highest consumption occurring in the Central and Southern parts of the country. </figcaption></figure>
</figure>



Each map is scaled such that the color shift occurs at the median. Gradients within color are based on quantiles, so extremes (bottom and top 5 percent of the population) are darkest.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-rural-effect-nbsp">The Rural Effect&nbsp;</h2>



<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 300px; background-color: #eee; padding: 10px; margin-left: 15px;">
A New Recipe for Nutritional Studies
Something so elemental as food shouldn’t be so complicated. Still, it is often confusing to scan through the conflicting coverage about what is and what isn’t healthy to eat.
<code style="display: none;"></code>Is sugar toxic? Is coffee good or bad for you? And what about red meat and eggs?
<code style="display: none;"></code><a href=" https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2017/05/how-your-eating-habits-affect-your-health">Diet and nutrition are </a><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/opinion/diet-research-nutrition.html">difficult to study.</a> But studying what we consume is critical for understanding because of how and what we eat impacts our health. This understanding is especially true as the implications of diet-related conditions like obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease rise to epidemic proportions. That’s what makes nutritional studies — as well as better ways of powering those studies — so critical.
<code style="display: none;"></code>This week, 23andMe <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.14.20058263v1">published a paper</a> describing our unique approach to these kinds of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/observational-study">observational studies</a>, which make up a cornerstone of nutrition research. With millions of individuals who have consented to participate in research and answer questions about their daily eating habits, 23andMe’s can quickly collect nutritional information in real-time.
<code style="display: none;"></code>Using this data with other health-related information can help inform studies that look at the impact of different diets on different populations, identify trends, and spot correlations. For example, we’ve spotted seasonal dietary changes, differences in diet between men and women, and people of different age groups. We’ve also looked at correlations between different kinds of diets and exercise frequency.
<code style="display: none;"></code>Most recently our researchers looked at geographic differences in the United States and diet. This helped illuminate not just the differences in diet between urban and rural populations but also the differences in lifestyles between these communities. Looking at these different types of data in different ways allows scientists to explore the complicated relationship between diet, lifestyle, and health.
<code style="display: none;"></code>In our<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.14.20058263v1"> new paper</a>, we demonstrate 23andMe&#8217;s ability to quickly and contemporaneously collect nutritional data for fast assessment of trends. We can do this much faster and at a much larger scale than traditional approaches like those of the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm">NHANES</a>).
<code style="display: none;"></code>“23andMe created an opportunity for very large, rapid-scale, and real-time data collection, which may inform national nutritional trends and future epidemiologic studies in a much shorter time frame than ever before,” said Stella Aslibekyan, Ph.D., a co-author of the paper and Senior Scientist at 23andMe.
<code style="display: none;"></code>Although 23andMe customers are not exactly representative of the population as a whole, as 23andMe grows and diversifies, findings drawn from this data will be more applicable to the population as a whole. The next step will be adding genetic data and this, in turn, will help in learning more about how genetics and changes in dietary habits and lifestyle can improve health and prevent chronic disease.
</div>



In addition to exploring nutritional habits by county, we also looked at the effect of living in a rural vs. urban setting on dietary habits. After adjusting for age, sex, and BMI, we saw whether you lived in a rural vs urban setting[2], which was highly associated with dietary habits across all four food types we considered. Participants living in rural environments were likelier to consume added sugar, dairy, and red meat, whereas urban participants ate more fruits and vegetables.



This difference in dietary behavior (i.e., the &#8216;&#8221;rural effect&#8217;”) is equivalent in magnitude to the increase in sugar-sweetened beverages associated with a 14-point increase in BMI in males and a 10-point BMI increase in females. Even more striking is the association with added sugar; the rural effect is equivalent to a 19-point increase in BMI in males and an 11-point increase in females. The BMI equivalence of the rural effect on red meat is 6 and 9 BMI points in males and females, respectively,&nbsp; and dairy consumption is 13 and 7 points for males and females. The rural effect was more pronounced in men than in women for the dairy and sugar domains and was more robust in women for red meat. (See Figure 2 for a graphical display of these results.)



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="239" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BMI-Table-300x239-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30768"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> Figure 2: BMI equivalence of the rural effect. Figure 2 represents the average effect of moving from an urban setting to a rural setting associated with each nutritional domain, in terms of BMI points, for a 50-year-old individual. Specifically, for an urban-dwelling male (female) age 50, each line segment represents the equivalent BMI points associated with moving to a rural setting (SSB = sugar-sweetened beverages).&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>



While these results may seem counterintuitive, as rural settings are often where food that feeds the country is grown, studies have shown that people in these settings usually have limited access to healthy food choices. In fact, many rural communities rely on convenience stores for their food, which often offer little to no healthy options.<a id="a3" href="#f3">[3]</a> In addition, education on nutrition and funding for nutrition programs in rural schools also appears to be limited.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discussion-nbsp">Discussion&nbsp;</h2>



23andMe’s extensive database of self-reported dietary habits allows one to study the individual and geographic factors that influence what we eat. While factors such as sex, age, and BMI can impact our nutritional habits, where you live can also be an essential contributor to your diet. Visualizations of self-reported consumption by county show striking spatial patterns across the US. Our data also suggest that living in an urban vs. rural environment can impact diet. Participants living in rural environments were likelier to consume added sugar, dairy, and red meat, whereas urban participants ate more fruits and vegetables. Good nutrition is a critical component of leading a healthy lifestyle and understanding dietary differences between urban and rural environments may potentially help address the noted health gap between urban and rural America (<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ruralhealth/cause-of-death.html">CDC source</a>).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-footnotes">Footnotes:</h2>



 <a id="f1" href="#a1">[1]</a> &#8220;<a href="https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2017/05/how-your-eating-habits-affect-your-health">How Your Eating Habits Affect Your Health | NIH News in Health</a>.&#8221; Accessed 26 Aug. 2019.



<footer class="footnotes"><code style="display: none;"> 
</code><code style="display: none;"> 
</code><a id="f2" href="#a2">[2]</a> USDA Rural-Urban continuum codes were used to classify participants as living in an urban or rural setting based on reported zip code (<a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-continuum-codes/">source</a>)</footer>



<footer class="footnotes"><code style="display: none;"> 
</code><code style="display: none;"></code> <a id="f3" href="#a3">[3]</a> Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity in Rural America</footer>



<footer class="footnotes"><code style="display: none;"> 
</code><code style="display: none;"><code style="display: none;"></code></code>
&nbsp;
</footer>

Stella Aslibekyan

23andMe Maps the Way We Eat 

Everybody hurts, but we all hurt a little differently because pain and how we perceive it is both complex and personal.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-25253 size-medium" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Pain-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Pain-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Pain.jpg 724w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
That makes studying and treating the intricacies of pain and chronic pain difficult.
In collaboration with scientists from the German-based pharmaceutical company Grünenthal, 23andMe has been conducting a pain study and researching chronic pain, as well as the role genetics plays in it all. 
<h6>Cold Pressor Test</h6>
For that work, we developed an online version of a known experimental pain test and used a clinically validated pain sensitivity questionnaire to gauge pain thresholds and tolerance.
During the online procedure, we ask some 23andMe customers who consented to participate in the study to place a hand in icy water for up to three minutes. This &#8220;cold pressor test&#8221; helps to gauge pain sensitivity, as does the questionnaire where participants need to imagine painful situations.
<h6>Online Pain Study<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-28224 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cold-Pressor-240x300.png" alt="" width="240" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cold-Pressor-240x300.png 240w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cold-Pressor-818x1024.png 818w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cold-Pressor-768x961.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cold-Pressor-703x880.png 703w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cold-Pressor-943x1180.png 943w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cold-Pressor.png 1256w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px" /></h6>
Using these two online methods allows for more accurate comparisons of pain perception between individuals. The researchers succeeded in this crucial step for studying the genetic differences in how individuals experience pain. A paper on this online “pain testing@home” was published this week in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0231697">Plos One</a>.
&#8220;The success of using these online measures is really encouraging because it makes genetic research on pain much more feasible and scalable,&#8221; said Matthew H. McIntyre, Ph.D., a 23andMe senior scientist and the lead author of the study.
While we each understand our own levels of pain, it&#8217;s much harder to understand it in others. Those individual differences in both perception and tolerance of pain, also make it difficult to find treatments that work. Identifying the genetic associations for pain may help in identifying ways to treat it better.
&#8220;Our new paradigm testing@home will help advance genetic research into personalized treatments for pain,&#8221; said Achim Kless, Ph.D., a co-author, and Scientific Director and Principal Translational Scientist at Grünenthal.
<h6>Complexity of Pain</h6>
Beyond developing better ways to treat pain, the study could also shed more light on the complexity of chronic pain, a persistent menace experienced by an estimated 50 million people in the United States alone.
For this study, scientists included data from more than 30,000 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research. More than 8,000 of those participants administered the cold pressor test on themselves. The participants reported the results through a web-based interface custom-designed by 23andMe. The questionnaire was an online version of a clinically validated pain sensitivity questionnaire usually given on paper. It asked participants to rate imagined pain situations such as burning their tongue, or stubbing a toe, or getting a sunburn.
The study found differences between men and women.  Men have a higher threshold for pain. This finding was also something observed in clinical pain studies carried out under health care professional supervision. The researchers now hope to identify individuals who are either much more or much less sensitive to pain. The hope is to identify the genes that cause those differences. This, in turn, will help in identifying potential drug targets for treating pain.

A New Study on Pain

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-28208 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-300x300.jpg" alt="A image of the globe and the double helix to represent those who have opted into participate in research on COVID-19" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16-980x980.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1080x1080-COVID-IG-Copy-16.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Scientists around the world are racing to understand COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus that causes the disease. Among the questions they&#8217;re asking: Why do most people who are infected show mild to moderate symptoms (or possibly no symptoms at all), whereas others develop severe disease?
We know that certain factors — like advanced age or underlying health conditions like heart disease and diabetes — can make someone more likely to develop severe symptoms, including <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/study-on-pneumonia">pneumonia</a>. But even young, healthy people can develop severe symptoms and die from COVID-19. Why might that be?
Could genetics play a role?
With the help of our research participants, 23andMe is launching a research study to try to answer that question. Before we describe 23andMe’s planned research, here&#8217;s some of what is known about the role of genetics in other infectious diseases.
<h6>Human genetics plays a role in many infectious diseases</h6>
We know from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3114">past research</a> that genetics can influence a person&#8217;s susceptibility to different infectious diseases — including whether they&#8217;re infected and how severe their disease becomes.
For example:
<ul>
<li>Particular genetic variants in a gene called HBB can make people less susceptible to infection by the parasite that causes malaria. HBB contains instructions for making the hemoglobin protein that carries oxygen inside our red blood cells.</li>
<li>A particular genetic variant in a gene called CCR5 can protect people from HIV infection by preventing the virus from being able to enter certain T cells in our immune system. CCR5 codes for a protein that sits on the surface of those T cells.</li>
<li>People with a particular variant in the FUT2 gene are much less likely to be infected by norovirus. FUT2 codes for an enzyme that helps determine whether certain molecules are present on the surface of our gut cells.</li>
</ul>
In addition, genetic variants in HLA genes may explain the differences in response to several different conditions. This group of genes helps the immune system distinguish the body&#8217;s own proteins from proteins made by foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria. Studies have found that variants in these genes may help explain why HIV progresses more quickly in some people than others. Variants in the HLA genes may also influence why some people can clear hepatitis B infection and others don’t, instead ending up with a chronic disease. And variants in this same group of genes could offer insight into why some (but not all) people infected with dengue virus experience severe complications. In 2017, scientists at 23andMe published a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00257-5">genetic study</a> that identified almost 60 genetic variants associated with susceptibility to one of 17 different infectious diseases, and many of those variants were in HLA genes.
<h6>What about COVID-19?</h6>
So, could genetics help explain why certain people develop severe COVID-19 and others develop only mild or undetectable symptoms?
It&#8217;s too early to say for sure, but some scientists think that&#8217;s likely the case. At least a couple of studies have started looking for clues.
For example, in order to get inside our cells, the virus that causes COVID-19 latches onto a human protein called ACE2. And scientists <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41421-020-0147-1">identified</a> genetic variants in and near the ACE2 gene that could impact how much ACE2 protein is made, or how the protein functions. This could make it easier or tougher for the virus to slip inside a person&#8217;s cells and make them sick. In another study, scientists <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.11.20031096v1">reported</a> that a person&#8217;s blood type — which is determined by the ABO gene — might influence their likelihood of being infected by the virus. While these preliminary observations are intriguing, more research in different populations and in larger groups of patients is needed to validate these and other findings.
<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 300px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28040" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CDC-Image-of-Coronavirus.png" alt="" width="512" height="287" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CDC-Image-of-Coronavirus.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CDC-Image-of-Coronavirus-300x168.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" />
Coronavirus is a general term that includes many different (but related) viruses, including the one causing the current pandemic.
SARS-CoV-2 is the specific coronavirus in the news right now. SARS-CoV-2 stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, based on the symptoms it can cause. (The 2002-2003 SARS epidemic was caused by a virus called SARS-CoV.)
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease 2019 (the year the virus was first found in humans).
</div>
<h6>How 23andMe Research could make a difference</h6>
23andMe’s unique research model, with millions of customers consented to participate, offers our scientists a powerful tool for potential insight into the role genetics may play in explaining differences in the severity of the novel coronavirus.
One way to identify genetic variants that contribute to disease severity is a genome-wide association study or GWAS. In a GWAS, scientists compare the DNA of people who had severe symptoms to the DNA of people who had milder symptoms, or even no symptoms at all. Genetic variants that are more common in one of these groups of participants than the other represent genetic associations with COVID-19 severity.
And that&#8217;s just one question that <a href="https://research.23andme.com/covid19/">23andMe Research</a> hopes to answer. We&#8217;ll compare genetic variants in people who get very sick with variants in people who had milder symptoms or haven&#8217;t gotten sick. By identifying genetic variants that are more common in people who experienced severe disease, scientists may be able to better understand who&#8217;s most at risk. Perhaps even more importantly, these genetic studies can also help us gain new insights into how the novel coronavirus infects our cells and impacts our bodies. And those insights might give us clues to potential targets for new drugs or vaccines.
Learn more about 23andMe&#8217;s study <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/covid-19-genetic-study/">here</a>.
<hr>
<h6>References:</h6>
1) <a class="c-link" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22310894" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="slack-kit-tooltip">Chapman SJ et al. (2012). &#8220;Human genetic susceptibility to infectious disease.&#8221; Nat Rev Genet. 13(3):175-88.</a>
2) <a class="c-link" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32133153" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="slack-kit-tooltip">Cao Y et al. (2020). &#8220;Comparative genetic analysis of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV/SARS-CoV-2) receptor ACE2 in different populations.&#8221; Cell Discov. 6:11.</a>
3)<a class="c-link" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28928442" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="slack-kit-tooltip">Tian C et al. (2017). &#8220;Genome-wide association and HLA region fine-mapping studies identify susceptibility loci for multiple common infections.&#8221; Nat Commun. 8(1):599.</a>
4) <a class="c-link" href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.11.20031096" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="slack-kit-tooltip">Zhao J et al. (2020). &#8220;Relationship between the ABO Blood Group and the COVID-19 Susceptibility.&#8221; medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.11.20031096</a> &nbsp;

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