Personal characteristics of older primary care patients who provide a buccal swab for apolipoprotein E testing and banking of genetic material: The spectrum study

Objective:To determine the personal characteristics and reasons associated with providing a buccal swab for apolipoprotein E (APOE) genetic testing in a primary care study. Methods: The study sample consisted of 342 adults aged 65 years and older recruited from primary care settings. Results: In all, 88% of patients agreed to provide a DNA sample for APOE genotyping and 78% of persons providing a sample agreed to banking of the DNA. Persons aged 80 years and older and African-Americans were less likely to participate in APOE genotyping. Concern about confidentiality was the most common reason for not wanting to provide a DNA sample or to have DNA banked. Conclusion: We found stronger relationships between sociodemographic variables of age and ethnicity with participation in genetic testing than we did between level of educational attainment, gender, function, cognition, and affect. Copyright (c) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.