No easy explanation for divergent attitudes regarding the medical utility of consumer genetic testing: Findings from the pgen study

In the Impact of Personal Genomics (PGen) longitudinal study, we are collaborating with two consumer genetics companies to survey customers prior to receiving their genetic testing results (baseline), 2-3 weeks post-results, and 6 months post-results. Individual genetic testing results for each participant are also being analyzed. Here we present an analysis of customers' perceptions regarding the medical utility of their results. Among 1,075 PGen participants who responded to the 2-3 week survey, 58% endorsed the statement “What I learned from my [testing] can help reduce my chances of getting sick,” while 42% were neutral or disagreed with this statement. We hypothesized that demographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, income, education) and baseline health behaviors (vitamin use; fruit and vegetable intake; frequency of vigorous, light, and strength exercise; number of annual health care visits; reported role in health care decision-making; self-reported health status) would explain this divergence. Using logistic regression to evaluate the associations between endorsement of this statement and each of the variables of interest, we found that none of these variables were significant predictors of endorsement. These results suggest that demographic characteristics and baseline health behaviors do not explain the variability observed in consumer perceptions of results utility, and that other predictors must be investigated. Additional analyses will be presented that consider participants' individual genetic testing results, family medical history and health status, and genetic literacy and results comprehension.