Attitudes towards predictive testing in Huntington's disease: A recent survey in Belgium

Abstract

After the publication of evidence of the existence of a DNA polymorphism closely linked to the gene for Huntington's disease, attitudes towards predictive testing for Huntington's disease were evaluated in Belgium in a group of persons who are at risk for the disease and in a smaller group of their partners. The percentage of persons at risk who planned to take the test was smaller than in many previously published studies. Our results revealed a lack of association between the intention to take the test and social or demographic variables. Specific attention was paid to the difference in intention between a person at risk and his or her partner and to the opinions about the way the decision to take the test should be made.