More and More Parents Demanding Genetic Tests for Kids

A new study published in the journal, Pediatrics, has revealed that more and more parents are opting to make their children undergo genetic tests to check for diseases and believe that the benefits outweigh the risks involved in such tests. The researchers, led by Georgetown University Medical Center’s Professor Kenneth Tercyak, tested around 219 parents for 15 genetic variants for some of the most common diseases such as Type II diabetes, osteoporosis, high cholesterol, heart disease and hypertension.

The parents were also asked to compare the benefits of such tests with other consequences such as invasion of privacy and psychological discomfort and the researchers found that majority of parents believed that the benefits of conducting similar tests on their children outweighed the consequences.

“Parents offered the genetic susceptibility test for common preventable conditions tended to consider that the potential benefits of this test for their own child could outweigh its risks. These tests usually don't offer a clean bill of health and can be hard to interpret even in the best scenario”, Professor Tercyak said.


Source-Medindia