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Knowledge and attitudes on pharmacogenetics among pediatricians

Journal of Human Genetics volume 65, pages 437–444 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Increasing enthusiasm for clinical pharmacogenetic testing and the availability of pharmacogenetic-based guidelines indicate that pediatricians will increasingly be expected to interpret and apply pharmacogenetic test results into medical care. Previous studies have identified a lack of knowledge on pharmacogenetics across many physician specialties; however, this has not been systematically assessed among pediatricians. To evaluate pediatrician knowledge, attitude, and educational interest in pharmacogenetics, we surveyed physician cohorts from both the United States (U.S.) and Japan. A total of 282 pediatricians (210 from the U.S. and 72 from Japan) participated in an anonymous survey (online or hardcopy) on pharmacogenetics knowledge, perception, and education. Over 50% of all respondents had >10 years of clinical experience and >75% had some prior education in genetics. However, <10% felt they were familiar with pharmacogenetics, which was very consistent with <20% of the U.S. pediatricians correctly responding to a codeine/CYP2D6 pharmacogenetics knowledge question and <10% of U.S. pediatricians being aware of the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC). Despite being generally unfamiliar with pharmacogenetics, >80% of all respondents indicated that implementation of clinical pharmacogenetic testing will improve efficacy and safety, and that pediatricians should be capable of applying this testing to their practice. Moreover, the majority (83.1%) were interested in educational opportunities on pharmacogenetics, particularly on result interpretation and therapeutic recommendations. Taken together, these data indicate that although practical knowledge of pharmacogenetics among pediatricians in the U.S. and Japan is currently very low, their interest in clinical pharmacogenetics and related education is high, which will likely facilitate future implementation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Stacey Gray, from the Nemours Biomedical Research Department, for coordinating the administration of the Nemours physician survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Shahad Rahawi, Hetanshi Naik, Aniwaa Owusu Obeng, Yoshinori Seki, Kimihiko Oishi & Stuart A. Scott

  2. Sema4, Stamford, CT, 06902, USA

    Shahad Rahawi, Yoshinori Seki & Stuart A. Scott

  3. Department of Biomedical Research, Nemours Children’s Health System, Wilmington, DE, USA

    Kathryn V. Blake, Rachel M. Wasserman & Vicky L. Funanage

  4. Department of Biomedical Research, Nemours Children’s Health System, Jacksonville, Orlando, FL, USA

    Kathryn V. Blake, Rachel M. Wasserman & Vicky L. Funanage

  5. The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Aniwaa Owusu Obeng

  6. Department of Pharmacy, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Aniwaa Owusu Obeng

  7. Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Kimihiko Oishi

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  1. Shahad Rahawi
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Correspondence to Stuart A. Scott.

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SR, YS, and SAS are paid employees of Sema4.

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Rahawi, S., Naik, H., Blake, K.V. et al. Knowledge and attitudes on pharmacogenetics among pediatricians. J Hum Genet 65, 437–444 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s10038-020-0723-0

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