Handbook of Genomics and the Family: Psychosocial Context for Children and Adolescents

imperfectandwithlimiteddata(Ng,Murray,Levy,&Venter,2009). Theabovescenarioraisesmanyquestionsfortoday''shealth-carec- sumers. For example, for whom is this information applicable, and for whatpopulationsorsubpopulationsisitnot?Underwhatci... Read more

imperfectandwithlimiteddata(Ng,Murray,Levy,&Venter,2009). Theabovescenarioraisesmanyquestionsfortoday''shealth-carec- sumers. For example, for whom is this information applicable, and for whatpopulationsorsubpopulationsisitnot?Underwhatcircumstances might this information be useful, and when should it be disregarded as irrelevant?Andperhapsmostimportantly,what,ifanything,canbedone inlightofinformationaboutpersonalgeneticrisktoeffectivelylowerthe oddsofbecomingsickandraisetheoddsofstayinghealthy? vii viii PREFACE Becausetheprevalenceofmostdiseasesvariesasafunctionofage, gender, race/ethnicity, and other personal characteristics, answers to these questions are complex and many are just beginning to be und- stood(Khouryetal.,2009).Someexpertshaveconcludedthattheanswers tosuchquestionsremainoutofreachatthepresenttimeandmayc- tinue to be elusive for another 5-10 years (Frazer, Murray, Schork, & Topol,2009).Yet,twenty-?rstcenturyhealth-careconsumers,providers, and policy makers face these choices now about incorporating personal genetic information into health management and often do so without a complete and accurate understanding of the potential impact of their decisionsonmultiplelevels(Carlson,2009). Less