Ascertainment and Critical Assessment of the Views of the General Public and Healthcare Professionals on Nutrigenomics in Greece

Abstract

Executive Summary There is an urgent need to critically assess the nutrigenomics field, particularly since the general public is often misinformed about the potential benefits of correlating an individual's genomic genetic profile with their nutritional status. In this article, we attempt to shed light on the views and perceptions of healthcare professionals and the general public in relation to nutrigenomics, to investigate how a healthcare professional might include genetic testing in routine health examinations and how the general public in Greece can might eventually come to view see positively the use application of nutrigenomics in a positive light.

Making personalised nutrition the easy choice: Creating policies to break down the barriers and reap the benefits

“…Some preferred personalised nutrition to be delivered as part of existing health services, while others favoured the anonymity and convenience afforded by commercial offerings (Berezowska et al, 2014;Fallaize et al, 2015;Stewart-Knox et al, 2014;. This finding was novel given that previous studies have unanimously implied that the public would prefer services to be delivered through existing health provision (Pavlidis et al, 2012;Su and Lu, 2012;Wendel et al, 2013). The Food4me survey confirmed that a large proportion of Europeans preferred health service provision, but also identified a second potential market comprised of those who preferred the anonymity and degree of control that D-T-C personalised nutrition would afford (Food4me White Paper, 2015).…”

Meta-Analysis of Genes in Commercially Available Nutrigenomic Tests Denotes Lack of Association with Dietary Intake and Nutrient-Related Pathologies

“…Finally, the lack of regulation shows that there are no specific recommendations and guidelines till now in order to apply these tests in everyday life. It seems also that health professionals, but also in some cases the general public, are not totally ready for the use of these tests or they cannot fully understand or interpret them (Pavlidis et al, 2012). The need for an enhanced education/training on this field as well as data interpretation became evident in our previous study on nutrigenomics perceptions and views in Greece (Pavlidis et al, 2012).…”

“…It seems also that health professionals, but also in some cases the general public, are not totally ready for the use of these tests or they cannot fully understand or interpret them (Pavlidis et al, 2012). The need for an enhanced education/training on this field as well as data interpretation became evident in our previous study on nutrigenomics perceptions and views in Greece (Pavlidis et al, 2012). On the other hand, extra care should be given when these tests are prescribed, as their use is not yet well defined by law and by the scientific community through clinical research.…”

“…As a consequence, results may not be well perceived, understood and even be acted on. Nevertheless, there is a tendency in believing that personalised nutrition would be more helpful (Pavlidis et al, 2012;Hurliman et al, 2014).…”

“…Personalized (genomic) medicine exploits genomic information in the context of guiding medical decision-making, thereby allowing physicians to make assessments of disease risk and design rational evidence-based treatment regimens. For this, the unique genomic profile of an individual has to be taken into consideration alongside their clinical profile to achieve a health-oriented decision (Pavlidis et al, 2012). However, being an emerging discipline, personalized medicine has yet to attain wide applicability in modern medical practice.…”