"The Top Priority Is a Healthy Baby": Narratives of Health, Disability, and Abortion in Online Pregnancy Forum Discussions in the US and China

The performance evaluation of NIPT for fetal chromosome microdeletion/microduplication detection: a retrospective analysis of 68,588 Chinese cases

Background

Chromosomal abnormalities are the main cause of birth defects in newborns. Since the inception of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) technology, it has primarily been applied to the detection of common trisomy (T21, T18, T13). However, the application of NIPT in microdeletion and microduplication detection is still controversial.

Methods

This study retrospectively analyzed the data of 68,588 cases that underwent NIPT at Ganzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital in China. These data were used to evaluate the performance of NIPT in fetal chromosome microdeletion/microduplication detection and to investigate the key factors affecting the NIPT performance.

Results

A total of 281 cases (0.41%) had positive NIPT results with copy number variants (CNVs), of which 161 were validated by karyotyping and chromosome microarray analysis (CMA). Among the 161 cases, 92 were confirmed as true positives through karyotyping or CMA, including 61 microdeletion cases and 31 microduplication cases, resulting in a positive predictive value (PPV) of 57.14%. Improvements in library construction methods increased the fraction of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) from 13.76% to 18.44%, leading to a significant improvement in the detection rate (0.47% vs. 0.15%) and PPV (59.86% vs. 28.57%) of NIPT for CNVs.

Conclusion

This study proved the robust performance of NIPT for fetal chromosome microdeletion/microduplication detection. In addition, the cffDNA fraction is a key factor influencing NIPT, with increased cffDNA fraction improving the performance of NIPT.

The Emergence and Global Spread of Noninvasive Prenatal Testing

Since its introduction in 2011, noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has spread rapidly around the world. It carries numerous benefits but also raises challenges, often related to sociocultural, legal, and economic contexts. This article describes the implementation of NIPT in nine countries, each with its own unique characteristics: Australia, Canada, China and Hong Kong, India, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Themes covered for each country include the structure of the healthcare system, how NIPT is offered, counseling needs and resources, and cultural and legal context regarding disability and pregnancytermination. Some common issues emerge, including cost as a barrier to equitable access, the complexity of decision-making about public funding, and a shortage of appropriate resources that promote informed choice. Conversely, sociocultural values that underlie the use of NIPT vary greatly among countries. The issues described will become even more challenging as NIPT evolves from a second-tier to a first-tier screening test with expanded use.

Current attitudes and preconceptions towards expanded carrier screening in the Eastern Chinese reproductive-aged population

PURPOSE

A growing number of Chinese individuals of reproductive age will face the choice of accepting or refusing expanded carrier screening (ECS). This study aimed to explore the awareness, wishes, and possible misconceptions of ECS among this population, as well as factors affecting their decision-making.

METHODS

Chinese reproductive-aged individuals in Eastern China who sought cell-free fetal DNA screening and peripheral blood karyotype were invited to complete a 31-item ECS survey by scanning a specific quick response code. We evaluated the relationship between awareness, attitudes, and intentions to participate in ECS, along with possible misconceptions.

RESULTS

Overall, 93.1% of participants intended to undergo ECS at their expenses, and 53.6% indicated they would pay less than 1000 CNY (approximately 145 USD) for the test. Around 96.5% of participants had misconceptions about ECS and genetic diseases. Participants whose first reaction was interest, who had prior awareness of the test, or who perceived benefits were more likely to intend to use ECS (p < 0.001). Participants with a bachelor's degree or above or with a household income over 150,000 CNY (approximately 21,700 USD) would be more likely to pay ≥ 1000 CNY (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicates that overall, the Eastern Chinese reproductive-aged population has positive attitudes towards ECS, although there are some misconceptions about ECS and genetic disorders. Population-based ECS appears to be desired by the reproductive-aged people in Eastern China. Steps should be taken to offer ECS along with pre- and post-test education and genetic counseling to raise awareness and to reduce misconceptions.

Parental expectations of raising a child with disability in decision-making for prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy: A mixed methods study

OBJECTIVE

To examine attitudes toward prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy (TOP) among parents and obstetric providers in relation to their views on raising a child with disability.

METHODS

An explanatory sequential mixed methods study. A survey among 274 parents and 141 providers was followed by interviews with 26 parents and 10 providers. Using multivariate analysis, the relationships between attitudes were examined. Thematic analysis was used to identify the reasons behind the attitudes.

RESULTS

In comparison with providers, parents reported more positive attitudes toward raising a child with disability and more moral views about TOP. Providers reported more variations in attitudes toward offering prenatal testing and TOP. Significant associations were found between attitudes toward prenatal testing, raising a child with disability, reproductive autonomy, and TOP. Three major themes were identified: (1) meanings of parenthood from genetic tests; (2) views toward TOP and parental responsibility; and (3) implications of advanced extended prenatal genetic testing.

CONCLUSIONS

Perceived social-cultural norms of disabilities and parental expectations of raising a child with disability influence decision-making regarding TOP.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

As more conditions of the fetus are able to be detected, the social-cultural implications of the technology and disabilities need to be addressed in antenatal care.

The influence of experiential knowledge and societal perceptions on decision-making regarding non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT)

Background

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) allows women to access genetic information about their fetuses without the physical risk inherent to prior testing methods. The advent of NIPT technology has led to concerns regarding the quality and process of informed consent, as a view of NIPT as “routine” could impair women’s considered approach when choosing to undergo testing. Prior studies evaluating NIPT decision-making have focused on the clinical encounter as the primary environment for acquisition of biomedical information and decision formation. While important, this conceptualization fails to consider how additional sources of knowledge, including embodied and empathetic experiential knowledge, shape perceptions of risk and the societal use of NIPT.

Methods

In order to address this issue, qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 25 women who had been offered NIPT were performed. Participants came from a well-resourced, rural setting near a major academic medical center in the US. Women were categorized by NIPT use/non-use as well as whether their described decision-making process was perceived as making a significant decision requiring contemplation (“significant”) versus a rapid or immediate decision (“routinized”). A constructivist general inductive approach was used to explore themes in the data, develop a framework of NIPT decision-making, and compare the perceptions of women with differential decision-making processes and outcomes.

Results

A framework for decision-making regarding NIPT was developed based on three emergent factors: perceptions of the societal use of NIPT, expected emotional impact of genetic information, and perceived utility of genetic information. Analysis revealed that perceptions of widespread use of NIPT, pervasive societal narratives of NIPT use as “forward-thinking,” and a perception of information as anxiety-relieving contributed to routinized uptake of NIPT. In contrast, women who displayed a lack of routinization expressed fewer stereotypes regarding the audience for NIPT and relied on communication with their social networks to consider how they might use the information provided by NIPT.

Conclusions

The findings of this study reveal the societal narratives and perceptions that shape differential decision-making regarding NIPT in the U.S. context. Understanding and addressing these perceptions that influence NIPT decision-making, especially routinized uptake of NIPT, is important as the use and scope of this technology increases.

Facilitating informed choice about non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT): a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis of women's experiences

BACKGROUND

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) can be used to accurately detect fetal chromosomal anomalies early in pregnancy by assessing cell-free fetal DNA present in maternal blood. The rapid diffusion of NIPT, as well as the ease and simplicity of the test raises concerns around informed decision-making and the potential for routinization. Introducing NIPT in a way that facilitates informed and autonomous decisions is imperative to the ethical application of this technology. We approach this imperative by systematically reviewing and synthesizing primary qualitative research on women's experiences with and preferences for informed decision-making around NIPT.

METHODS

We searched multiple bibliographic databases including Ovid MEDLINE, EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and ISI Web of Science Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Our review was guided by integrative qualitative meta-synthesis, and we used a staged coding process similar to that of grounded theory to conduct our analysis.

RESULTS

Thirty empirical primary qualitative research studies were eligible for inclusion. Women preferred to learn about NIPT from their clinicians, but they expressed dissatisfaction with the quality and quantity of information provided during counselling and often sought information from a variety of other sources. Women generally had a good understanding of test characteristics, and the factors of accuracy, physical risk, and test timing were the critical information elements that they used to make informed decisions around NIPT. Women often described NIPT as easy or just another blood test, highlighting threats to informed decision-making such as routinization or a pressure to test.

CONCLUSIONS

Women's unique circumstances modulate the information that they value and require most in the context of making an informed decision. Widened availability of trustworthy information about NIPT as well as careful attention to the facilitation of counselling may help facilitate informed decision-making.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018086261 .

Precision assessment of public attitudes toward genetic testing

Public attitudes toward genetic testing are largely unknown. Furthermore, as medical practices vary widely among different regions around the world due to differences in cultural, sociopolitical, and economical environments, people from different regions may have drastically different attitudes. Even for the same individual, the attitude may vary depending on the purpose and type of genetic testing and the disorder to be tested for. It seems to me what is called for is a "precision" approach to gauging people's attitude toward genetic testing. In the current issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics: Part A, Fu et al. reported a carefully designed study that began to fill this gap, although more work need to be done for different disorders and among other populations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.