Genetic testing for the susceptibility to alcohol dependence: interest and concerns in an African American population

The search to identify genes for the susceptibility to alcohol dependence (AD) is generating interest for genetic risk assessment. The purpose of this study is to examine the level of interest and concerns for genetic testing for susceptibility to AD.

Three hundred four African American adults were recruited through public advertisement. All participants were administered the Genetic Psycho-Social Implication (GPSI) questionnaire, which surveyed their interests in hypothetical genetic testing for AD, as well as their perception of ethical and legal concerns.

Over 85% of participants were interested in susceptibility genetic testing; however, persons with higher education (p=0.002) and income (p=0.008) were less willing to receive testing. Perception of AD as a deadly disease (48.60%) and wanting to know for their children (47.90%) were the strongest reasons for interest in testing. Among those not interested in testing, the belief that they were currently acting to lower their risk was the most prevalent. The most widely expressed concern in the entire sample was the accuracy of testing (35.50%). Other notable concerns, such as issues with the method of testing, side effects of venipuncture, falsely reassuring results, and lack of guidelines on "what to do next" following test results, were significantly associated with willingness to receive testing.

Although an overwhelming majority of participants expressed an interest in genetic testing for AD, there is an understandable high level of methodological and ethical concerns. Such information should form the basis of policies to guide future genetic testing of AD.