Transcript Student Interest in Genetic Testing for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Student Interest in
Genetic Testing for
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Sajel Shah, Biological Sciences
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
-- A person with T2DM can’t
use energy that comes from
eating food
-- Increase in incidence of
T2DM has paralleled
increase in overweight/obesity
epidemic in America
-- There are ways to reduce
one’s risk of T2DM (healthy lifestyle)
Genetic Susceptibility Test
for T2DM
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Genetic susceptibility tests indicate a person’s risk for developing a
particular disease. It is a form of DNA testing.
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Genetic susceptibility tests can tell you if you carry a “high- risk” gene
for Type 2 Diabetes.
1) A positive test for the “high-risk” gene indicates that a
person’s chance for developing Type 2 diabetes is higher than
the average person in the population.
2) Carrying the “high-risk” gene does not mean a person
will definitely become a diabetic.
-(
Several new genes correlated with Type 2 Diabetes have been identified
(ex. TCF7L2 variant)
Why create this survey?
-- This survey is an extension of Dr. Kyung Rhee’s work. She wrote a
survey that explores parent interest/response to pediatric genetic
testing for T2DM
-- Survey aims to answer:
What are the most important factors that will influence students to
obtain a genetic susceptibility test for T2DM and how will they
respond to the results?
Will genetic susceptibility tests for T2DM be useful in motivating
college students to live healthier?
Do college students know how they can reduce their risk of T2DM?
-- Why choose college students to survey?
Prevention
Survey Development & Types
of Questions
-- Things to think about:
1) What do you really hope to answer with the
questions? Analyze value of each question.
2) Hypothesize trends in data
-- Types of Questions
1) Yes/No
2) Likert scale questions
3) Demographic Questions
4) Multiple choice (Ex. 5 levels of agreement)
Developing Valuable Survey
Questions
-- Sample question:
“For adults, the CDC recommends at least 150 minutes per week (or 30 minutes
per day for most days of the week) of moderate-intensity exercise (i.e. brisk
walking) and muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work
all major muscle groups. Based on these CDC recommendations, at this time, do
you think you exercise enough?”
-- Better option: Form a 2 part question that 1) asks how many minutes/hours per
week the student engages in moderate-intensity exercise and 2) asks how many
minutes/hours per week the student engages in muscle strengthening activities
--
Why is the second option better?
1) Still allows for analysis of whether or not student is
exercising enough based on CDC recommendations
2) Could be useful in identifying trends based on amount of exercise
time reported. Ex.: Data may show that the greater the amount of
time exercised by a student, the more likely he/she was to agree
that exercise would reduce his/her risk of T2DM
Analyzing the Value of a
Question
11) At this time, how healthy do you think your weight is?
1
2
3
4
5
Not healthy at all
Very healthy
-- This question is designed to gauge the survey-taker’s perception of
his/her weight.
-- A person that is identified as overweight by their BMI
might not think their weight is actually unhealthy. If a person does
not think their weight is unhealthy, then they probably would not be
motivated to change their eating/activity habits. Thus, it is important
to ask how healthy a person thinks his/her weight
and diet is.
Example of Axed Question
Question included in survey:
--
Genetic testing to indicate a person’s risk for developing Type
Diabetes should be easily accessible for everyone.
a. Strongly disagree
b. Disagree
c. Don’t agree or disagree
d. Agree
e. Strongly agree
Question omitted from survey:
--
Genetic testing to indicate a person’s risk for developing Type 2
Diabetes should be easily accessible only for those individuals
who have a family history of Type 2 Diabetes and have a reason
to think that they might carry the “high risk” gene.
a. Strongly disagree
b. Disagree
c. Don’t agree or disagree
d. Agree
e. Strongly agree
Hypotheses
-- Family history of T2D, perceived current risk, student’s academic
interests/goals, & weight status will be the most important factors that
influence whether or not a student would get tested
-- Knowledge of having the high risk gene would motivate people that
currently perceive their weight, diet, and exercising habits as unhealthy to
take steps to maintain a healthier weight, eat healthier, and exercise more
than if they did not have the high risk gene. How much more motivated they
would be is unclear. People that already perceive their weight, diet, and
exercising habits as healthy will probably not be motivated to change their
behavior.
Hypotheses
-- If a person knows he/she has a family history of T2DM but is not
motivated to live healthier, perhaps a genetic test would not be an
extra motivator for this person. On the other hand, maybe a formal
genetic test early in life would confirm the risk for the individual and
prompt him/her to take actions to live healthier.
-- Overweight students that have been warned about the risks of being
overweight by a health care professional might be more
knowledgeable than non-overweight people on how to reduce their
risk of T2DM
-- A student’s major or family history of T2DM will also probably be
correlated with his/her knowledge about reducing one’s risk for
T2DM
IRB Approval
&
Survey Administration
-- Institutional review board’s expedited review criteria:
1) Research on individual or group behavior, including research on
cognition/motivation
2) Research employing survey methodologies
-- This survey is pending IRB approval, so it has not been formally
administered
-- Participant recruitment: Fall 2009 survey will be administered to
100 college students in a gen-ed class (important to obtain a
diverse sample)
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Thanks,
Dr. Norris &
Kay!
April 30, 2009