In the context of preventive health, preventive medicine refers to the set of tools, procedures and actions whose main objective is to promote and preserve an optimal state of health, avoiding the development of diseases (primary prevention) and/or favoring early diagnosis that makes possible, in turn, the selection and application of the most effective treatment in each case (secondary prevention).
In recent years, the immeasurable advances in genetics have made possible the development of new paradigms in medicine with great potential, both at the preventive and therapeutic levels. This is the case of personalized precision medicine or personalized preventive medicine, based on and adapted to the genetic profile, i.e. the individual genetic endowment of each person.
What are the main tools of preventive medicine and preventive medicine programs?
In this context, new tools of paramount importance for disease prevention are emerging. One of the most relevant tools in this regard are genetic tests or DNA tests, such as the one developed by tellmeGen.
Genetic testing as a preventive medicine tool makes it possible to decipher all the information contained in our DNA (our molecule of life) to provide us with very valuable information about our personal characteristics to know the traits that make us unique, to go deeper into our origins, and most importantly, make it possible to evaluate the susceptibility or genetic predisposition to develop different pathologies or health problems through preventive medicine programs and, consequently, allow us to establish habits and specific measures aimed at their prevention and even early treatments.
What are the main diseases that can be prevented and addressed through preventive medicine?
Among the main pathologies that can be detected by means of precision medicine tools are diseases such as high blood preassure or hypertriglyceridemia , pathologies that have a high incidence and prevalence in today’s society but which, nevertheless, could be preventable in a high percentage of cases by means of the appropriate approach based on preventive medicine.
For example, in the case of high blood preassure, one of the more than 430 items of genetic information provided by the tellmeGen test, divided into six categories (risk of major diseases, monogenic hereditary diseases, pharmacology, personal traits, wellness and ancestry), knowing our risk and/or susceptibility to hypertension we can act accordingly by establishing and maintaining healthy lifestyle habits such as a low sodium diet, as well as other dietary advice and guidelines that can also be provided by our nutrigenetic counseling service, all with the sole objective of improving the quality of life of people, the main value and vocation of tellmeGen.
