*Source: https://www.years.co/en/genetische-analyse* Genetic analysis # Your genome is not a fate. It is a map. Panel, array, exome, genome: four methods that measure very different things. What each delivers, what a finding actually triggers, and what German law requires. Physician-led, with counselling before and after the examination. Book an appointment Free intro call - Exome and genome sequencing - 170+ curated risk genes - Genetic counselling under German law - Part of YEARS Ultimate In brief ## What a genetic analysis delivers, and what it does not A genetic analysis reads your hereditary information and looks for variants with medical meaning. What matters is not the volume of data but the type of finding it produces. Monogenic findings with high penetrance such as BRCA1 or familial hypercholesterolaemia are covered by guidelines and trigger defined consequences. Pharmacogenetics demonstrably changes drug dosing. Polygenic risk scores shift a probability without establishing a diagnosis. Lifestyle genetics we do not treat as actionable. In Germany a predictive examination may only be ordered by a physician, with genetic counselling before and after the test. At a glance Methods at YEARS Whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing Interpretation scope More than 170 clinically curated risk genes Legal framework German Genetic Diagnostics Act, physician-ordered, counselling mandatory Programme Included in YEARS Ultimate (€16,900) Time to findings Four to six weeks after the blood draw Location Berlin-Charlottenburg, patients travel from across Germany The methods ## Four ways to read a genome. The methods differ not in accuracy but in how much they look at in the first place. Comparing an array with genome sequencing means comparing a sample with a full survey. Method | What is read | What can be found | At YEARS | Gene panel | A fixed selection of genes, usually 10 to 200 | Known disease-relevant variants in exactly those genes | As targeted follow-up where there is a specific suspicion | SNP array | Individual predefined positions, typically 500,000 to 1 million | Common variants, the basis of polygenic risk scores | Not as a primary method — it only reads what was asked in advance | Whole exome sequencing | All protein-coding regions, around 1-2 % of the genome | The majority of variants that are clinically interpretable today | Standard in the Ultimate analysis | Whole genome sequencing | The entire genome, coding and non-coding | Additionally structural variants and pharmacogenetics in full breadth | Standard in the Ultimate analysis | More data does not automatically mean more insight. Genome sequencing reads roughly fifty times as many bases as the exome, but the share of that which can be interpreted with clinical confidence today is considerably smaller. The gain lies less in volume than in particular classes of finding: structural variants and complete pharmacogenetic interpretation. In detail: Whole genome sequencing (WGS) · WGS or WES — what is the difference? Evidence ## Not every finding carries the same weight. This is the most important distinction in the field, and the one most often blurred in the marketing of genetic tests. We assign every type of finding to the evidence tier it actually sits on. Tier 1 ### Guideline- and endpoint-based BRCA1/2, Lynch syndrome, familial hypercholesterolaemia, haemochromatosis, pharmacogenetics (CYP2C19, DPYD, TPMT) May justify a diagnosis, a treatment or a shorter screening interval. Written into medical guidelines. Tier 2 ### Study-based, without guideline status ApoE status, selected cardiometabolic variants, carrier status for recessive conditions May justify observation and inform how other diagnostics are prioritised. Does not on its own trigger treatment. Tier 3 ### Research-adjacent Polygenic risk scores, lifestyle genetics such as COMT or MTHFR, epigenetic ageing models Provides context, triggers no diagnosis and no treatment. Predictive performance outside European cohorts is poorly documented. This classification is not a marketing statement but the system by which we assess and publicly declare every procedure in our programmes. Complete classification: Evidence and scientific standards · Genetic risk factors in detail Read on ## The rest of the topic, sorted. Five pages, each answering one question completely rather than everything halfway. Method ### Whole genome sequencing (WGS) How full sequencing works technically, what it finds in addition, where its limits are and what the report actually contains. Comparison ### WGS vs. WES Genome or exome: coverage, cost, clinical added value and the question of when the extra effort is genuinely worth it. Findings ### Genetic risk factors Monogenic, polygenic, pharmacogenetic: which variants actually carry a consequence in a preventive examination. Application ### Genetic health check How genetics is embedded in a complete check-up, and why a finding without blood values and imaging says little. Providers ### Genetic analysis in Germany Which providers exist, how they differ, and how to recognise a physician-led process. Location ### Medical genetics Berlin The physicians, the process and the counselling on site in Charlottenburg — plus how it works if you do not live in Berlin. Legal framework ## Why an online gene test is a different thing. The German Genetic Diagnostics Act draws a clear line between a medical genetic examination and posting off a saliva sample. That line is not a bureaucratic detail, it is the difference between a finding a physician can work with and a file you are left to interpret yourself. - — Predictive genetic examinations may only be ordered by a physician. - — Genetic counselling is mandatory before and after the examination. - — Consent is given in writing and can be withdrawn at any time. - — You have a right not to know — individual findings can be excluded. - — Employers and insurers may neither demand genetic examinations nor accept results. At YEARS a physician conducts the pre-test consultation before the blood draw and the discussion of findings afterwards. Both are included in the programme and are not optional. Process ## From blood draw to plan. Step 01 ### Consultation and family history A medical conversation about the aim, reach and limits of the examination. We record family history across three generations, because it determines which findings are relevant at all. Step 02 ### Blood draw and sequencing One EDTA blood sample is enough, no saliva kit. Exome and genome sequencing in an accredited laboratory, with interpretation of more than 170 clinically curated risk genes. Step 03 ### Discussion of findings After four to six weeks, a personal consultation: which variants were found, which evidence tier they sit on, and what follows for screening intervals, medication and diagnostics. Limits ## What genetics cannot do. We say this openly, because the alternative is a report that creates more expectation than it can meet. - Genetics says nothing about your current state. An unremarkable genome does not rule out an existing condition. - Most lifestyle diseases are polygenic and strongly environment-dependent. The genetic share explains part of the picture, not the outcome. - Variants of uncertain significance occur. They are named as such and not reinterpreted into a recommendation. - Blood pressure, ApoB, Lp(a), HbA1c and imaging say more about your next ten years than your genome does. Which is why genetics sits alongside: Blood values and biomarkers in a check-up ## Frequently asked questions about genetic analysis What is a genetic analysis? + A genetic analysis reads your hereditary information and looks for variants that carry medical meaning. Four methods exist, with very different reach: a panel tests a fixed selection of genes, an array tests individual known positions in the genome, exome sequencing reads all protein-coding regions, and genome sequencing reads the entire genome. At YEARS the analysis runs as exome and genome sequencing with interpretation of more than 170 clinically curated risk genes. The distinction between data and findings matters: sequencing produces raw data, and it only becomes medically usable through physician interpretation in the context of your family history and your other values. Who may order a genetic analysis in Germany? + The German Genetic Diagnostics Act is unambiguous: a predictive genetic examination, meaning an examination for conditions you do not yet have, may only be ordered by a physician. Genetic counselling is mandatory before and after the examination, and for predictive testing it must be given by an appropriately qualified person. You must consent in writing, and you have the right not to be told a result. This chain is exactly what is missing from gene tests you buy online and post off yourself. There you receive a file, but no information duty, no counselling, and no medical assessment of what you are supposed to do with it. How reliable are genetic results? + That depends entirely on the type of finding, and this distinction is the most important one in the whole field. Monogenic findings with high penetrance, meaning ones that actually cause the condition in most carriers, such as BRCA1, BRCA2, Lynch syndrome or familial hypercholesterolaemia, are covered by guidelines and trigger defined consequences. Pharmacogenetic findings demonstrably change the dosing of certain drugs. Polygenic risk scores, by contrast, are research instruments: they shift a probability without establishing a diagnosis, and their predictive performance is far better documented in European cohorts than in others. Lifestyle genetics such as COMT or MTHFR we deliberately do not treat as actionable. The complete classification per procedure is on our evidence page. Who benefits from a genetic analysis? + Three groups benefit most clearly. First, people with a family history, meaning cancer, heart attack or dementia in parents or siblings, particularly at a young age of onset. Second, people with findings that lifestyle cannot explain, such as very high cholesterol despite a good diet. Third, people who regularly take several medications, for whom pharmacogenetics delivers concrete dosing guidance. An analysis is less useful if you treat it as a substitute for baseline diagnostics. Blood pressure, ApoB, Lp(a), HbA1c and imaging say more about your next ten years than your genome does. Genetics supplements these values, it does not replace them. What happens to my genetic data? + Your raw data and your findings belong to you. They are processed under the German Genetic Diagnostics Act and the GDPR, stored within the EU, and not passed to third parties: not to insurers, not to employers, and not for research purposes without your explicit and separate consent. In Germany employers and insurers may neither demand genetic examinations nor accept existing results, which is written into the Genetic Diagnostics Act. You can request deletion of your data. On request you receive your raw data in a common format so you can pass it to a physician continuing your care. What does a genetic analysis cost at YEARS? + Genetics at YEARS is not a standalone product but part of the Ultimate programme at 16,900 euros. That includes exome and genome sequencing, interpretation of more than 170 risk genes, pharmacogenetics, epigenetics, microbiome, whole-body MRI, liquid biopsy and more than 230 biomarkers, plus medical counselling before and after the examination and three check-ins a year. The reason for the bundle is medical: a genetic finding without blood values, imaging and family history cannot be interpreted meaningfully. Statutory insurance does not reimburse. Privately insured patients and self-payers can claim parts of it, which is clarified in the intro call. ## Also of interest YEARS Ultimate The programme that includes the genetic analysis Family history When cancer, heart attack or dementia runs in the family Analysis or online DNA test Why genetic diagnostics law draws the line, not the laboratory Pharmacogenetics The part of genetics with the strongest evidence Evidence and standards How YEARS assigns every procedure to an evidence tier ## Genetics is the start of a question, not the answer. In a free intro call we clarify whether a genetic analysis contributes anything in your situation at all — and what it would concretely change. Free intro call Book an appointment Medical Disclaimer This information is provided for general education and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please discuss findings and individual medical decisions with a qualified physician. Content is reviewed periodically against the current state of scientific evidence.