News

Despite the continuing hype surrounding direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests, accompanied by an increasing number of academic publications discussing their validity and potential regulation (see previous news), to date very little is known about awareness of these tests amongst general consumers or healthcare providers. In the absence of sales data from any of the major companies, one might sensibly ask whether anybody (other than journalists and intrigued geneticists) is actually buying these tests.

 

One of the first attempts to address this question uses two national surveys in the US (Healthstyles for consumers and DocStyles for physicians) to gain insights into awareness, perceptions and use of DTC personal genomic tests [Kolor K et al. (2009) Genet Med 11(8):595]. The surveys were limited to “genetic tests marketed directly to consumers that scan a person’s entire genetic makeup for potential health risks” (see previous news for examples). Of the 5399 consumer responders, 22% were aware of these tests and 0.3% (16 people) had actually used a test. Amongst the 1880 physicians sampled, 42% were aware of the tests and, over the past year, 15% had at least one patient bring the results of such a test to them for discussion. Interestingly, of this latter group, 75% (212 physicians) indicated that the results had changed some aspect of their patient’s care. Thus, regardless of the continuing concerns over validity and utility, it seems that personal genomics services are fairly widely known and are already being used to influence clinical decision making.