The impact of multiplex genetic testing on disease risk perceptions |
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| Authors: | S Shiloh HD deHeer S Peleg S Hensley Alford K Skapinsky JS Roberts DW Hadley |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel;2. Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA;3. Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, College of Health and Human Services, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA;4. Department of Biostatistics and Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA;5. School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA;6. Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA;7. Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA |
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| Abstract: | This study assessed the effects of multiplex genetic testing on disease risk perceptions among 216 healthy adults. Participants, aged 25–40, were recruited through the Multiplex Initiative, which offered a genetic susceptibility test for eight common diseases. Participants completed baseline telephone and web‐based surveys prior to making the testing decision. Three months after the receipt of mailed test results, participants completed a follow‐up telephone survey. Risk perceptions for the eight diseases were measured at baseline and follow‐up, along with beliefs about genetic causation of those diseases. The main results were: (i) mean risk perceptions were considerably stable from baseline to follow‐up; (ii) the best predictors of follow‐up risk perceptions were the corresponding baseline perceptions and family history; and (iii) within‐individuals, most participants increased or decreased their risk perceptions for specific diseases in concordance with the number of risk markers they carry, their family history and their beliefs about genetic causality of diseases. In conclusion, participants presented a vigilant approach to the interpretation of genetic test results, which provides reassurance with regard to a potential inflation of risk perceptions in the population because of multiplex genetic testing. |
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| Keywords: | family history genetic testing multiplex risk perception |
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