The lack of response by consumers to their genetic tests, as reported
by Eryn Brown, is disconcerting. Rather than signifying admirable
levelheadedness, the fact that people neither worried about results
nor were spurred to take up preventive measures suggests that the
general public has yet to become sufficiently engaged in genetic
information to the extent hoped for by the genetic testing industry --
or to the extent necessary to make testing effective on a large-scale.
It is also symptomatic of the public's general disengagement from
numerical and statistical findings.
Dov Greenbaum, JD PhD ; Mark Gerstein, PhD
Unpublished letter in response to:
Genetic testing doesn't spook patients, study finds
By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times, January 16, 2011
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-he-dtc-gene-tests-20110113,0,38062,print.story
Sent same letter as above in response to below NY Times piece (with Brown replaced by Tierney):
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18tier.html
Heavy Doses of DNA Data, With Few Side Effects
By JOHN TIERNEY, Published: January 17, 2011
