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In addition, the study, by Cinnamon Bloss, Ph.D., found that the test didn’t result in increased anxiety in participants.
Scripps has been studying consumer reactions to genetic testing for a couple of years now, and the results from this study follow up on more preliminary studies that showed similar results.
Last year, Bloss presented some of her data at the conference of the American Society of Human Genetics in San Francisco.
Since direct-to-consumer genetic testing became available, there has been criticism that the tests would trigger undue anxiety among participants. Studies have not found this to be the case, however.
We’ve written before about some of the work Bloss and her team have already done. These and other studies provide real data showing the value for consumers of this kind of information when applied to their own health. In fact, nearly all participants found the information to be useful. And those who learned they had an increased genetic risk for certain conditions often worked with their doctors to take preventative actions to mitigate those risks.
