Would you like to know what your risk of having Alzheimer’s disease in the future? Although most people say so, the reality is that when that possibility is really offered, many decide not to know it.
This is revealed by a new study reviewed by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Washington in San Luis (Washu Medicine), published in ‘Jama Network Open’.
Asó, while 81 % of the participants in a study conducted in about 300 people said they would like to know their risk if this information was available, just 60 % agreed to receive the results when they were really offered.
One of the main reasons to reject this information was the fear that rwill present an emotional burden for themselves or their loved ones.
Others mentioned personal experiences with dementia, the lack of available preventive treatments, or the belief that their current memory does not justify worrying.
“There is a tendency to provide research participants with the results of their tests, even when there are no clear clinical actions to follow,” explains the main author of the study, Jessica Mozersky. “But our study indicates that, when it comes to serious diseases such as dementia by Alzheimer’s, people should have the option of not knowing.”
The study focused on 274 cognitively healthy volunteers of the memory and aging project, a longitudinal study initiated in 1979.
Participants were made Genetic, blood and neuroimaging analysis to estimate your risk of developing Alzheimer’s in the next five years. Despite his previous theoretical interest, a significant proportion decided not to know his results.
Those with a family history of Alzheimer’s or who identified themselves as African Americans were more likely to reject the return of results. In later interviews, those who refused also mentioned concerns about emotional impact, lack of certainty in predictions, and the possible affectation of personal insurance.
Mozersky points out that access to effective preventive treatments could change the attitude of many people in the future. «Some said that, if there was a treatment, they would consider knowing their results», Adds.
Although these results are not automatically integrated into the medical history of the participants, they could be registered if the individuals themselves share them with their doctors. This situation raises new ethical and practical questions in biomedical research.
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