Health orientation and individual tendencies of a sample of Italian genetic testing consumers

Abstract

Background Over the last decade, genetic testing (GT) had markedly spread in European countries and struggled the debate concerning the psychological effects on the population. The aim of this study was to investigate the individual tendencies of GT consumers in a sample of Italian citizens. Methods A total of 152 Italian clients from GenomaLab, a private genetic company, were enrolled from February 2016 to September 2018 and completed an ad hoc survey. Results Results showed that GT consumers were motivated to preserve their well‐being, they felt responsible for their health, they were neither pessimistic nor optimistic toward negative occurrences, and poorly inclined to take high risks in their lives. Participants who had suffered from a disease in the past appear to be less tolerant to the uncertainty for future negative events. Conclusion Our results depict Italian GT consumers as health‐oriented, focused on prevention, who do not have a pessimistic perception of their condition but do not like to “bet” on their health, and probably their intention (and belief) is to acquire genetic information in order to reduce uncertainty and increase their decision‐making “power” related to their health. Taken together, all these results contribute to describe the population of GT users in European countries, to regulate the provision of GT results and to entail the communication of genetic risk information based on a consumers’ personal profile.

The Perception of Premarital Genetic Screening within Young Jordanian Individuals

“…These observed positive attitudes toward PGS and its benefits are consistent with other published studies [14]. An interesting study on the Italian genetic testing consumers showed awareness, responsibility, and motivation among respondents toward their health, they wanted to reduce uncertainty for future risks and believed that genetic testing can help them to take steps in these directions [15]. A new cross-sectional study developed by Dutch researchers conducted in four European nations showed that the Hungarian citizens had the most positive opinion on the personal benefits of genetic testing followed by the Czech, Slovak, and Polish [16].…”

Genetic Testing Consumers in Italy: A Preliminary Investigation of the Socio-Demographic Profile, Health-Related Habits, and Decision Purposes

“…The sample of 152 Italian GT consumers is quite small, so the results could not be generalized outside of this specific context, and further research is needed to amplify the significance of what has been observed. However, the population of GT clients recruited in this study underwent a further investigation of their psychological profile ( 41 ) and two follow-ups, at 6 months and 1 year after the receipt of the result, to monitor the actual changes and decisions made over time. Currently, the data are being processed and on the point of being considered for publication.…”

Genetic testing users in Italy and Germany: Health orientation, health‐related habits, and psychological profile

“…In literature, it is reported that laypeople perceive GT as very useful for disease prevention, health improvement, and for creating a better future plan for themselves and their children, even if they are simultaneously concerned about the possible detection of a genetic variant that could affect their life planning (Koeller et al, 2017 ; Oliveri, Masiero, et al, 2016 ; Wöhlke et al, 2019 ). Studies conducted on Italian and German users reported that the Italians had a greater perception of controllability of a genetic predisposition (e.g., through the adoption of preventive measures) compared to the Germans who perceived the genetic information as deterministic (Oliveri, Durosini, et al, 2020 ; Wöhlke et al, 2020 ). Regarding the GT clinical utility, users could be motivated to change lifestyles based on test results (Koeller et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Other recent reviews concluded that evident negative impacts have not been found in the vast majority of the studied populations (Oliveri et al, 2018 ; Parens & Appelbaum, 2019 ; Roberts et al, 2017 ). In particular, Italian people tended to be confident in their ability to cope with genetic risk and tended to consider genetic tests as a valuable information to make important preventive decisions for themselves and their families (Oliveri et al, 2018 ), and overall GT outcomes resulted not to be harmful from a psychological point of view (Oliveri, Durosini, et al, 2020 ; Oliveri et al, 2016 , 2018 ). A recent study conducted on the Italian GT users tried to depict their personal tendencies toward their own health and revealed that they have a very high motivation to avoid risky conditions that could affect their health, they do not like to take very high risks (e.g., the risk of taking a disease), and they define themselves neither optimistic or pessimistic about the possibility of future negative life events (Oliveri, Durosini, et al, 2020 ).…”