Personal Characteristics of Older Primary Care Patients Who Provide a Buccal Swab for Apolipoprotein E Testing and Banking of Genetic Material: The Spectrum Study
In: Public Health Genomics, Band 7, Heft 4, S. 202-210
ISSN: 1662-8063
<i>Objective:</i> To determine the personal characteristics and reasons associated with providing a buccal swab for apolipoprotein E (APOE) genetic testing in a primary care study. <i>Methods:</i> The study sample consisted of 342 adults aged 65 years and older recruited from primary care settings. <i>Results:</i> In all, 88% of patients agreed to provide a DNA sample for APOE genotyping and 78% of persons providing a sample agreed to banking of the DNA. Persons aged 80 years and older and African-Americans were less likely to participate in APOE genotyping. Concern about confidentiality was the most common reason for not wanting to provide a DNA sample or to have DNA banked. <i>Conclusion:</i> We found stronger relationships between sociodemographic variables of age and ethnicity with participation in genetic testing than we did between level of educational attainment, gender, function, cognition, and affect.