Being told you have a genetic predisposition to alcoholism could make you feel you have less control over your drinking, a new study suggests.

The unique study adds to growing concern about the potential perils of direct-to-consumer genetic tests.

Psychologist Ilan Dar-Nimrod from the University of Sydney and colleagues report their findings in the journal Genetics in Medicine.

He says the latest findings show how genetic information has the power to change a person's emotional state, behaviour and attitudes.

"We have about 1,600 genetic tests available now," Dar-Nimrod tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "We should have better knowledge about how to communicate these results in a manner that doesn't create harm."

He says for a few genetic-related diseases, having a particular gene means you will definitely get the disease, unless you die of other causes first.

But in 98 per cent of cases the gene only increases your risk of a condition and that risk may be very small or very uncertain.

Despite the lack of certainty around the impact of many disease-related genes, Dar-Nimrod says there is some evidence that people who test positive for them can become fatalistic and believe they will definitely develop the condition in question.

He says such "genetic determinism" is encouraged by media reports that imply a greater risk from such genes than there actually is.

Dar-Nimrod and colleagues set up the first randomized experiment to investigate the psychological and behavioural impact of receiving personalized genetic information of this kind.

Read more here:
Home genetic testing for alcoholism carries perils

Comments are closed.