Assessment of Genetic Screening in the Military
Abstract
The goal of this project was to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of genetic testing in military populations. We weighed the costs of genetic testing against the likelihood of saving lives of military recruits with undetected, potentially life-threatening genetic conditions. Large genomic databases of asymptomatic populations were used to analyze the effect that genetic screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, the most common cause of sudden cardiac death) would have on the military. A database containing known pathogenic variants was used as a training set to build logistic regression models that predicted the pathogenicity of genomic variants in two genes known to cause HCM. Our cost-benefit analysis was based, in part, on the frequency of the identified pathogenic variants, as well as their likelihood of causing disease. We compared the costs and benefits of genetic screening to non-genetic physiological tests or no tests at all. We also distributed a survey to the United States Naval Academy to assess the attitudes regarding genetic screening in the military. We conclude that genetic screening with a follow-up echocardiogram for the detection of HCM is a viable and cost-effective option if a microarray genetic test is used. We find that individuals in the military view genetic testing as a viable medical test, but are concerned about the use of genetic screening to make employment decisions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 21, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1054388
Entities
People
- John Iii J. Brough
Organizations
- United States Naval Academy