Would Knowing Genetic Risks Increase Screening Rates?

Last week we pointed to a study that revealed that people who have a family history of colon cancer are less likely to get screening for the disease than those people who do not share such a history. This is surprising considering that increased awareness of the disease should be correlated with higher screening rates, not lower ones. This begs the question as to whether being aware of the risks of contracting illnesses is going to increase or decrease the likelihood that an individual will get preventive imaging scans. A recent study of skin cancer risks revealed that people who have been genetically tested and found to be at high risk of developing cancer are more likely to get screening for this disease. This indicates that people who have concrete medical evidence that they are at risk because of genetics are likely to get screened for certain diseases. Combined with the information from the previous study, the conclusion may be drawn that people don't increase their screening just because a family member has an illness but may increase their screening when faced with information that proves that they have a higher likelihood of contracting the illness in the future. Question of the Day: Does an awareness of genetic risks of disease increase or decrease the rate of preventive screening? photo link