Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Issues Related To Genetic Tests

Main Category: Genetics
Also Included In: Public Health;  Bipolar
Article Date: 26 Mar 2008 - 10:00 PDT

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Several newspapers recently published articles related to take-home genetic tests. Summaries appear below.

• Bipolar test: The AP/San Francisco Chronicle on Monday examined how the "proliferation" of take-home genetic tests "troubles many public health officials, medical ethicists and doctors." According to the AP/Chronicle, the tests "receive almost no government oversight, even though many of them are being sold as tools for making serious medical decisions." In addition, health experts "worry that many of these products are built on thin data and are preying on individuals' deepest anxieties," the AP/Chronicle reports. More than 1,000 take-home genetic tests have become available for purchase in the past few years. The AP/Chronicle also profiled John Kelsoe, a psychiatric geneticist at University of California-San Diego, who in February began selling his take-home genetic test for bipolar disorder on the Internet for $399 (Wohlsen, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 3/24).
  
  
• Knowledge gap: The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined how consumers seeking guidance regarding the use of take-home gene tests and how the interpretation of their results are "pretty much on their own." According to the Times, a study by RAND and the Department of Veterans Affairs in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association dedicated to genetic testing found a "wide gap" in "what knowledge is available and what health systems need to know" to make the tests effective in improving health nationwide. Patricia Ganz, a University of California-Los Angeles cancer and genetic specialist, said that physicians will need to be better trained to prepare for increased use of genetic tests and that the federal government should pass legislation to protect consumers against genetic discrimination (Healy, Los Angeles Times, 3/24).
  
  
• Limitations: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday examined how, although genetic tests can help individuals manage their health and make decisions about risks for many diseases and disorders, they "cannot detect all genetic changes that can cause disease." Other genetic factors, lifestyle choices, family medical history and environmental factors also can increase risk for diseases and disorders. According to the National Society of Genetic Counselors, genetic tests currently are available for about 1,500 diseases and disorders (Conwell, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/25).
  
  
• Variety of tests: The Washington Post on Tuesday examined how more than 20 companies offer genetic tests, many of which consumers can purchase for use at home, that "promise to help clients discern from their DNA what diseases they are likely to get, whether they are shy or adventurous, even their propensity to become addicted to drugs." According to the Post, "This is the world of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, a peculiar mix of modern science, old-fashioned narcissism and innovative entrepreneurialism, all made possible by the government-sponsored Human Genome Project." However, the "trend has critics warning that the market is becoming rife with hype," and "watchdogs note" that the "field is effectively free of regulatory oversight" and that "much of the science behind the results is still sketchy" (Weiss, Washington Post, 3/25).

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