Physicians' propensity to offer genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease: results from a survey.
OBJECTIVE
Examine physician knowledge, preferences, and use of genetic tests for Alzheimer's disease (AD).


METHODS
Survey of 426 community-based physicians treating AD patients.


RESULTS
Majority gave inaccurate estimates of AD risk. Medical specialty predicted appropriate use of current tests. Recommending substances to prevent memory loss was related to acceptance of error-free tests. High patient loads and familiarity with genetic tests predicted lower tolerance for test error.


CONCLUSIONS
Physicians do not endorse indiscriminate genetic susceptibility testing for AD. However, insufficient knowledge of disease risk, etiology, genetic susceptibility, and use of existing tests indicated a need for further physician education in this area.
Chase
Gary A
GA
Department of Biostatistics and Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health Sciences Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Mediicne, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Geller
Gail
G
Havstad
Suzanne L
SL
Holtzman
Neil A
NA
Bassett
Susan Spear
SS
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D018570:Risk Assessment