Coronary artery disease genetic risk awareness motivates heart health behaviors in the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative

Abstract

Objective: The Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative (CPMC) research study is designed to evaluate the potential contributions of common genetic risk factors to complex disease prevention, screening, and management. Here we have focused on the impact of personalized risk reports including genetic and non-genetic risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) on heart health behaviors. Methods: We analyzed self-reported behavioral outcome data from 683 CPMC participants who received personalized CAD risk reports including: genetic risk, family history risk, and self-reported non-genetic risks based on smoking and diabetes status. Results: Participants with awareness of increased genetic risk for CAD were significantly more likely to report increases in heart health behaviors after viewing their personalized risk report (F-value=14.11, p-value=9.92 x 10−7). This result remained significant after controlling for BMI and gender (eta=0.58, p-value = 6.91 x 10−7). Conclusion: Our study indicates that individuals who are aware of their genetic risk for CAD may have higher motivation to increase heart health behaviors.