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Lifestyle Risk Factors Among People Who Have Had Cancer Genetic Testing

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Journal of Genetic Counseling

Abstract

Hereditary cancer genetic counseling often focuses on medically intensive risk-reduction strategies, like imaging and risk-reducing surgeries. Lifestyle factors also influence cancer risk, but health behavior counseling is not common in genetic counseling. Information about typical lifestyle risk factors among patients seeking hereditary cancer risk is sparse. The current study describes cancer risk-relevant lifestyle factors for people who have had cancer genetic testing. Data came from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 4) collected in 2013. Analytic variables represented American Cancer Society nutrition and physical activity guidelines. Lifestyle factors were assessed for people who had undergone testing for BRCA1, BRCA2, or Lynch Syndrome genes. Among 3016 HINTS respondents, 135 had cancer genetic testing. Of these, 58 % were overweight or obese. Eighteen percent reported no moderate-intensity physical activity. Average sedentary screen-time was 3.4 h (SE = 0.472) daily. Sixty-three percent drank non-diet soda, and 23 % of these people drank soda every day. Between 18 and 36 % consumed less than 2 ½ cups fruits/vegetables daily. Twenty-four percent were current smokers. Lifestyle risk factors were not different between people who had genetic testing and those who had not. In conclusion, most people who had genetic testing for cancer susceptibility have at least one modifiable risk factor. Genetic counselors have opportunities to impact a counselee’s cancer risk not only through risk-tailored medical procedures, but also through lifestyle modification recommendations. Results of the current study may foster a broader discussion of genetic counselors’ roles in healthy lifestyle education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human & Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1101 E. Marshall St., Richmond, VA, 23298-0033, USA

    John M. Quillin

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  1. John M. Quillin
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Correspondence to John M. Quillin.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

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John Quillin declares he has no conflict of interest.

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No human studies were carried out by the author for this article.

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Quillin, J.M. Lifestyle Risk Factors Among People Who Have Had Cancer Genetic Testing. J Genet Counsel 25, 957–964 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-015-9925-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-015-9925-6

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