Genetic Risk Counseling for Diabetes Fails to Alter Behavior

Why didn’t genetic risk testing motivate people to make changes?…

In a current study, researchers found that genetic risk counseling for diabetes did not significantly change self-reported preventive behaviors or program adherence in overweight patients at risk for developing diabetes.

The researchers wrote, "Patients and providers have both indicated that learning about higher genetic risk results would likely motivate individuals to change their behavior to prevent diabetes." "This prediction has not yet been convincingly demonstrated in controlled trials."

Richard W. Grant, MD, MPH, of the division of research at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial of 42 patients at higher genetic risk for diabetes, 32 at lower genetic risk for diabetes and 34 untested control patients (n=108; mean age, 57.9 years) from the Diabetes Prevention Program. The study was done to determine whether testing for genetic risk for diabetes and counseling could improve prevention behavior.

According to data, patients attended approximately 6.8 group sessions and lost about 8.5 lb (P<.001). Thirty-three of 108 patients (30.6%) lost at least 5% of their body weight, researchers wrote.

"Enrollment in the 12-week diabetes prevention program led to small, generally favorable changes in risk perception, motivation (with the exception of exercise), and confidence that were not statistically different comparing higher- or lower-risk result recipients with control participants," the researchers wrote.

Although these findings are relevant to current literature in translational genomics, Grant and colleagues conclude that such genetic risk testing cannot be recommended in routine clinical visits due to a lack of evidence-based data.

Diabetes Care, Jan. 2013