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New studies are suggesting that doctors need to be more cautious when they release genetic information to patients.
A recent article in the American Journal of Psychiatry has examined the effects of informing patients of genetic predispositions to disease on their subsequent cognitive performance. The authors of the article, from the University of Indiana and UC San Diego, found that respondents who were informed of a disposition to Alzheimer’s performed worse on memory tests and had reduced confidence in the current power of their memory.
In the study, which involved almost 150 participants, some of the patients were given the results of genetic test for Alzheimer’s predisposition, whilst others were tested but not told of their results.
The researchers found that those participants who were informed of their predisposition to Alzheimer’s performed far worse on the tests for objective and subjective memory. The ”informed” participants showed poorer comprehension when asked to recount narratives and recall images. In subjective memory tests they were far more pessimistic about the strength of their current memory.
In addition avoiding the negative psychological effects of...
A recent article in the American Journal of Psychiatry has examined the effects of informing patients of genetic predispositions to disease on their subsequent cognitive performance. The authors of the article, from the University of Indiana and UC San Diego, found that respondents who were informed of a disposition to Alzheimer’s performed worse on memory tests and had reduced confidence in the current power of their memory.
In the study, which involved almost 150 participants, some of the patients were given the results of genetic test for Alzheimer’s predisposition, whilst others were tested but not told of their results.
The researchers found that those participants who were informed of their predisposition to Alzheimer’s performed far worse on the tests for objective and subjective memory. The ”informed” participants showed poorer comprehension when asked to recount narratives and recall images. In subjective memory tests they were far more pessimistic about the strength of their current memory.
In addition avoiding the negative psychological effects of...