Seek launches first at-home lab test measuring how alcohol impacts women's health

The start-up is backed by Penn, Rutgers, Mount Sinai and UCLA Health

Start-up Seek has launched the first at-home lab test that measures how alcohol impacts women's health.

The test helps women monitor how drinking impacts their health across different health categories, similarly to how fitness trackers monitor our heart rate and glucose levels.

The US-based start-up is backed by Penn, Rutgers, Mount Sinai and UCLA Health.

Founder Katie Garry said:

“I spent years trying to understand how alcohol impacted my health after getting abnormal blood work back that my doctor thought could be attributed to drinking. After multiple specialist appointments, thousands of dollars in medical bills, and some gaslighting, I started to do my own research.” 

“When I pitched my research to the clinicians who ultimately built Seek's test, they were already very familiar with this problem: alcohol is impacting more women than ever in history (35% more according to the CDC), but preventive health tools are nonexistent today (only 2.5% of clinicians do alcohol health screenings).”

Unlocking insights

The Seek test was developed in collaboration with clinicians and scientists and analyses biomarkers across core health categories that are sensitive to alcohol consumption.

This gives women the ability to monitor how alcohol impacts different areas of their health, unlocking novel insights related to how drinking affects them over time. 

Users can determine which area of their health they want to focus on (sleep, energy levels, reproductive health etc) and the test can help with understanding how alcohol impacts the body.

Katie continued:

"Before starting Seek, I spent years trying to understand how drinking impacted my health. I booked specialist appointments, I did my own research, and I accepted almost every test offered to me. This resulted in thousands of dollars in medical bills, and usually more questions than answers. 

“Seek works similarly to how we use fitness trackers to monitor things like our heart rate, glucose levels and menstrual cycle. Every woman's test results are packaged with drinking and lifestyle modifications that Seek generates from their biomarker levels and real-world datasets on alcohol and women's health.” 

The test will retail from $134 and includes a detailed analysis of test results, a custom care plan and an improvement timeline.

A disproportionate impact

Alcohol impacts the female body differently to men because they have different body compositions. Typically this includes more fat on a female body and less water which means alcohol is metabolised slower.

While the healthcare industry industry has spent decades researching food intolerances, alcohol is often left out of these studies - especially when it comes to women’s health.

However, recent research shows that the top causes of alcohol-related deaths can go undetected for years and they are rising more in younger women. More than eight drinks a week can increase a woman's risk for heart disease by up to 51% and binge drinking regularly can increase risk by up to 68%.