Does knowing heart disease risk change bad habits?

A vacationer hearing about rain in the forecast might alter his plans. A traveler hearing about a plane crash might even take the bus.

But will a person who hears they are at risk for heart disease change his or her lifestyle?

Surprisingly, no.

A 2016 report in the British Medical Journal analyzed 18 studies and found that even when people were shown genetic tests indicating increased risk factors for heart disease, they weren’t likely to change their diet, exercise more, or quit smoking.

This finding flies in the face of simple logic saying that a person would want to act in a way that keeps them alive longer.

Genetic testing, according to The National Institute of Health, has become much more popular and affordable lately with companies like 23andMe and Sure Genomics offering personal testing for anywhere from $100 to $2,000.  These tests can uncover inherited disorders and genetic risk factors that would leave a person predisposed to developing a heart problem. Researchers speculated that testing might lead to informed patients taking prevention into their own hands, but it seems this theory was not correct.

On one hopeful note, knowing their genetic predisposition to disease didn’t inspire healthy behavior, but it also didn’t inspire new risky behaviors either. Testing didn’t make people more or less depressed or anxious.

Experts at the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded that knowledge of risk factors coupled with behavioral counseling seems to help people take action. A program that has multiple sessions with patients over several months can help with setting goals to lose the weight and get healthy.