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Athletes are keeping their distance from a genetic test for concussion risks
Boosters have billed it as the cheek swab that could save football: an easy genetic test that promises to identify which young athletes are likely to suffer the most severe consequences from a concussion. The idea is to nudge those kids away from contact sports, while giving their less susceptible peers the green light to hit the gridiron.
“Isn’t it just better to know than to not know?” one gene testing company asked in a Facebook ad. Another urged: “Learn the risks. Make confident choices.”
The hitch? The market for this test, touted just a few years ago as revolutionary, seems to be remarkably soft.
Not many athletes are interested in getting tested. Insurers won’t pay.
And now, even some proponents of the tests are backing away. They’re expressing qualms about giving athletes, and their parents, unsettling news about the risks lurking in their genes — including the possibility that the children most at risk of problems after aconcussion may also have an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease later in life.
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