BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- As scientists continue to explore how genes affect the risk of certain diseases, companies like 23andMe and Navigenics offer individuals the chance to have their own genes read for such risk factors.

Customers can order tests online, send in saliva samples or a cheek swab, and within a few weeks they are sent a profile that calculates their risk for certain genetic diseases.

Researchers decided to investigate how accurate these direct-to-consumer DNA profiles were.

They compared the results provided from both of these companies for five subjects and found that while the DNA scans were accurate, how the companies interpreted the scans differed greatly.

There were major inconsistencies between the two reports, with only 50 percent of the disease predictions agreeing.

Researchers felt that the companies should be better about indicating to consumers how much is still unknown when it comes to these genetic predictions and warned consumers to take their personal risk, as reported by these profiles, with a grain of salt.