No abstract

We surveyed 264 persons (132 carriers, 132 matched noncarriers) screened for Tay-Sachs heterozygosity during 1974-76 in a program directed at senior high school students in Montreal. Among 198 who apparently received the questionnaire in 1982, the response rate was 42% (38 carriers, 45 noncarriers; age range 21-26 yr). Respondents and nonrespondents had no apparent demographic differences. Of eight unable to remember their genotype only one was a carrier (these persons were excluded from the study). The subjects were: single (75%), married (20%), engaged (3%), divorced (1%); 32% of carriers were engaged or married vs 16% of noncarriers. (There were no carrier couples in our sample, but one such couple, who married after being screened in the high school program, requested amniocentesis in 1981.) Only three of the 12 spouses or fiancé(s) of carriers have not been tested (vs 3 of 6 noncarrier partners). Only 19% of carriers now attach any "worry" to heterozygosity (vs 46% at the earlier time of test disclosure, P = 0.001); carriers with spouses or fiancé(e)s are less "worried" than unattached carriers. Only 3% of carriers claim they would change marriage plans if their fiancé(e) was also a carrier. Carriers and noncarriers uniformly approve (96%) genetic screening for themselves and for other mutant genotypes; 92% of carriers and 95% of noncarriers approve being screened in high school. These findings indicate that Canadians screened in high school: 1) have largely positive attitudes toward genetic screening long after the experience, and 2) are making appropriate use of the test result.

Lists of variations in genomic DNA and their effects have been kept for some time and have been used in diagnostics and research. Although these lists have been carefully gathered and curated, there has been little standardization and coordination, complicating their use. Given the myriad possible variations in the estimated 24,000 genes in the human genome, it would be useful to have standard criteria for databases of variation. Incomplete collection and ascertainment of variants demonstrates a need for a universally accessible system. These and other problems led to the World Heath Organization-cosponsored meeting on June 20-23, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia, which launched the Human Variome Project. This meeting addressed all areas of human genetics relevant to collection of information on variation and its effects. Members of each of eight sessions (the clinic and phenotype, the diagnostic laboratory, the research laboratory, curation and collection, informatics, relevance to the emerging world, integration and federation and funding and sustainability) developed a number of recommendations that were then organized into a total of 96 recommendations to act as a foundation for future work worldwide. Here we summarize the background of the project, the meeting and its recommendations.