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African
Americans are less likely than whites to seek predictive testing
for Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at the Morehouse
School of Medicine in Georgia and Boston University.
The researchers,
led by Dr. Yvonne Hipps, surveyed approximately 450 adults,
average age was 47, in an effort to determine attitudes and
beliefs about the disease.
When asked
if they would undergo testing if a test existed that could
predict the onset of Alzheimer's with 100 percent accuracy,
only 59 percent of African Americans surveyed showed an interest
compared to 67 percent of whites..
Hipps
and her colleagues, presenting at the annual meeting of the
American Geriatrics Society, went on to say that further analysis
showed that the interest in predictive testing was "significantly
lower" among African Americans.
They concluded
that further studies are warranted to better identify reasons
for the difference between the groups.
Source:
Alzheimer Week
of May 19, 2002
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