There’s no doubt we’re living in an age when DNA testing is alluring. With such commercial entities as 23andme or Ancestry.com, if you can spit into a tube then you can find out all kinds of info on your background, your heritage or even your risk of being diagnosed with certain diseases or afflictions. But is this knowledge a good thing?

A new article in The New York Times makes clear we’re on the verge of taking personal DNA info and determining one’s individual risk of being afflicted with 5 serious diseases, including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer. With a low cost and high predictive value, this new test will be able to alert you to a high risk, so that you can start preventive measures or lifestyle changes, or a low risk, which should allay some fears and give you time to determine what’s best.

For both men and women, including older adults, professionals often advise genetic testing, especially for breast cancer. A recent article in Next Avenue makes clear that older women diagnosed with breast cancer are often not informed of the availability of genetic testing, and thus miss out on an opportunity to fully understand their situation and make decisions accordingly. In fact, there’s even a campaign that’s been launched – No Matter My Age– to inform older women of the benefits of genetic testing for breast cancer. And for men, who may also carry the genetic risk for certain cancers and can pass that risk on to children, there’s an increased effort to educate them about the benefits of this testing.

Is there a downside to genetic testing? To the extent you learn about risks for diseases or ailments about which you can do little, the testing may cause heightened anxiety. And while genetic test results cannot be used to deny you health insurance (you should know about the federal Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act), they could possibly be used to limit your access to long-term care insurance or life-insurance, depending on the state you live in and the insurer you use. Alternatively, if your risk for a disease is assessed to be low, or the genetic info you receive allows you to make significant lifestyle changes to lessen your risk, an insurer might take that into account. The bottom line? Genetic testing is never something to do casually or impulsively. So before you take the plunge, inform yourself – and read more about what you should consider Here.