With next-generation individual genome sequencing for medical reasons comes the ethical issue of uncovering incidental findings about one’s health. Would you like your physician to tell you that you are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease?
Responding to an online questionnaire, 1200 Canadians answered that they generally would agree to receive information about high-risk disease disorders but not information on low-risk disorders. Also, some participants wanted to receive no incidental results, regardless of the potential health implications.
The authors conclude that their study shows that physicians should offer each patient an informed choice about the types of incidental findings they prefer to receive before taking a genome test.
Original research paper published in the CMAJ on March 9, 2015.
Names and affiliations of selected authors
