8 Reasons You Should Take Part In A Clinical Trial
5. To Find Out About Your Own Health
If you’re one of those lucky people who is rarely ill, finding out stuff about your own health can super interesting.
Maybe you’re interested to know what your blood type is; a trial that involves taking a blood sample from participants (a super common thing for trials to ask from their participants) will tell you that, and help advance research at the same time.
Other research can give you more detailed information about your own health. For example trials focussing on genetics often ask to carry out a genetic screen on their participants; this is usually a simple process either using a blood sample or a cheek swab. You could find out if you’re at a high risk of obesity, which could help you turn down that slice of cheesecake you had your eye on for after dinner.
In other cases, trials like this may require more thought before taking part; you could find out you’re more at risk of cancer or neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, all from giving a blood sample to a research study. It’s important to note here that genetic trials often offer counselling as well, finding out you are at risk of a certain disease can come as a shock – but it does allow you to implement lifestyle changes and hopefully reduce your risk over time.