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Physicians' propensity to offer genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease: results from a survey
Gary A Chase1, Gail Geller, Suzanne L Havstad
1Department of Biostatistics and Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health Sciences Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Mediicne, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Purpose:
Examine physician knowledge, preferences, and use of genetic tests for Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Methods:
Survey of 426 community-based physicians treating AD patients.
Results:
Majority gave inaccurate estimates of AD risk. Medical specialty predicted appropriate use of current tests. Recommending substances to prevent memory loss was related to acceptance of error-free tests. High patient loads and familiarity with genetic tests predicted lower tolerance for test error.
Conclusion:
Physicians do not endorse indiscriminate genetic susceptibility testing for AD. However, insufficient knowledge of disease risk, etiology, genetic susceptibility, and use of existing tests indicated a need for further physician education in this area.