Parents May Want Genetic Testing

Parents are interested in genetic testing for certain conditions in their children, says a study. The study looked at how parents feel about “direct-to-consumer” pediatric genetic testing. Researchers had 219 parents take an online survey about the advantages and risks of looking for common medical conditions that do not affect children until adulthood.  Parents seemed to want to find out early in life whether or not their children might develop common conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, lung cancer, or osteoporosis (weakening of bones). The study was published April 18 in the journal Pediatrics. The Los Angeles Times wrote about it the same day.