Harvard Law Bill of Health Blog
Margaret Waltz, PhD
R. Jean Cadigan, PhD
Anya E. R. Prince, JD, MPP
Debra Skinner, PhD
Gail E. Henderson, PhD
Age is an important consideration in medical screening, but calls for population based preventive genomic screening programs do not mention an upper age limit. Should such programs employ upper age limits, as occurs in other clinical screenings, on the assumption that older individuals would not benefit clinically? To address this question, our Genetics in Medicine paper analyzed data from GeneScreen, a research study of preventive genomic screening aimed at adults. We focused on how the researchers who designed the study and 50 individuals who joined the study understood and valued age in relation to screening…