When we use whole genome sequencing to look at lots of genes at the same time, we may come across genetic variants that we were not expecting. Sometimes these genetic variants are known to increase someone's risk for a serious health condition. These are called "incidental findings" because we we're not specifically looking for them but sometimes we find them because we are looking at many different genes. 

Some incidental findings have important actions that can be taken in childhood. For example, there are some conditions related to metabolism where someone can change their diet right away in childhood to help prevent the development of health issues. Other conditions are more important for young adults, for example, someone might be able to get earlier screening for certain types of cancer. 

In other research studies, about 3% of people are found to have an actionable incidental finding, so it is rare, but possible for this to come up in our study. 

Many people find this type of information useful because they feel like they can take actions to take better care of their health, however some people might find this type of unexpected genetic finding to be stressful and cause a lot of worry and anxiety. Some people would prefer to wait until a child is older and can make their own decision about whether they would want to know this type of result or not.