Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a serious mood disorder that affects about 1% of the population of the United States. Twin, family, and adoption studies have shown evidence for a genetic component of BPD, but monozygotic twin concordance is less than one, indicating that BPD is a multifactorial
disorder. First-degree relatives of an individual with BPD have approximately a 5-30% risk of developing BPD because of shared genes and environment. No strong susceptibility loci for BPD have been located, although some areas of interest are currently being evaluated. With increasing genetic information, demand for genetic counseling for BPD and other psychiatric disorders are increasing. This study used anonymous surveys for individuals with BPD and their first-degree relatives to assess knowledge, opinions, and acceptance of genetic counseling. The Health Belief Model was used to assess current health beliefs relating to BPD. Additionally, using a brief educational session, the effect of education on knowledge and health beliefs was assessed. A similar study was conducted by Dr. Triptish Bhatia in India and she has provided her unpublished results so that they could be included in this document for comparative purposes. Data show that the perceived severity of BPD and perceived barriers of testing were high in both populations. Data show that the perceived susceptibility, benefit, and knowledge of BPD in affected individuals were higher in the US population than in the Indian population. Ascertainment criteria and the evaluation procedures for the samples were different in both countries and they cannot be considered to be representative of the respective 'populations'. Results from this study can be applied to the creation of public health programs in which clients can learn more about their condition, how BPD is related to genomics and what the risk is to their offspring.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04012009-221450 |
| Date | 29 June 2009 |
| Creators | Frace, Stefanie J |
| Contributors | Robin E Grub, PhD, CGC, Elizabeth Gettig, MS, CGC, Vishwajit Nimgaonkar, MD, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04012009-221450/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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