VCU survey shows American public hesitant to use genetic therapy as foundation of youth

By Cary Funk and Thomas Huff

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RICHMOND, Va. – New genetic technologies may slow down the aging process, but the American public seems hesitant to try them, according to a new nationwide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said they were not too likely – or not at all likely – to use genetic therapy to slow down the aging process. More than a third, 37 percent, said they would be somewhat or very likely to use genetic therapies if it meant they could live longer. 

The third annual VCU Life Sciences survey also showed that men are more likely than women to say they would use genetic therapies if it meant they could live longer.  Forty-three percent of men compared to 31 percent of women consider themselves very or somewhat likely to use genetic therapy for this purpose. People of all ages had a similar response to the survey question, “New genetic techniques may prove able to slow down the aging process in human beings. How likely would you be to use genetic therapy if it meant you could live longer?”

“The issue of using genetic therapy to prolong longevity is likely to be of increasing practical concern as advances in genetic therapies continue over the next 10 to 20 years,” said Thomas F. Huff, Ph.D., VCU Vice Provost for Life Sciences.

The survey of 1,003 adults nationwide was conducted Sept. 3 – 26 for VCU Life Sciences by the VCU Center for Public Policy and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Overall, the majority of all social and demographic groups consider themselves not too likely or not at all likely to use genetic therapy to live longer, according to Dr. Cary Funk, survey director.  She noted that those more religious were more hesitant about genetic therapy than the less religious. Better than two thirds, 68 percent, of those who consider religious beliefs to have a great deal of influence in their lives said they would not use genetic therapy for this purpose. About three in ten, 29 percent, said they would be very or somewhat likely to do so. Those who said religion is not important in their lives were a bit more receptive to this idea -- 42 percent were very or somewhat likely to use genetic therapy to live longer while 56 percent were not too likely or not at all likely to do so.

The VCU Life Sciences Survey is a public opinion survey of U.S. residents. The survey was conducted by telephone from September 3 through September 26, 2003 with a randomly-selected sample of 1003 adults living in the continental U.S. The survey was sponsored by VCU Life Sciences. Interviewing was conducted by telephone from the facilities of the Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory, a division of the VCU Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. The interviewing was conducted by a staff of professionally trained, paid interviewers using computer-assisted telephone interviewing software. 

The sample of telephone numbers was prepared by Genesys Sampling Systems and was designed so that all residential telephones, including new and unlisted numbers, had a known chance of inclusion. The cooperation rate for the survey was 31%. Using the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) response rate calculations, interviews were obtained with respondents in 26% of the known or assumed residential households in the sample. 

The data are weighted to adjust for unequal probabilities of selection due to multiple telephone lines and multiple adults living in the household. In addition, the data are weighted on sex, race, age, education and region of residence to reflect the demographic composition of the adult population in the U.S. Percentages reported in the text and tables are weighted, while the number of cases shown in the tables for various subgroups is the actual number of respondents. 

Questions answered by the full sample of adults are subject to a sampling error of plus or minus approximately 3 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. This means that in 95 out of 100 samples like the one used here, the results obtained should be no more than 3 percentage points above or below the figure that would be obtained by interviewing all adults with telephones. Where the answers of subgroups are reported, the sampling error would be higher. Because of nonresponse (refusals to participate, etc.), standard calculations of sampling error are apt to understate the actual extent to which survey results are at variance with the true population values. Surveys are also subject to errors from sources other than sampling. While every effort is made to identify such errors, they are often difficult or impossible to measure. Readers making use of the results are urged to be mindful of the limitations inherent in survey research. More information on the survey method is available from the director of the survey, Dr. Cary Funk, at (804) 827 1430 or clfunk@vcu.edu. 

A full report on the survey along with tables of results by selected subgroups is available on the web at http://www.vcu.edu/lifesci/overview/polls.html. Results from the 2001 and 2002 VCU Life Sciences Surveys are also available on the web. 

Question wording for results above: 
New genetic techniques may prove able to slow down the aging process in human beings. How likely would you be to use genetic therapies if it meant you could live longer--very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely? 

Interest & Information:
Results of the following four questions were combined to produce an index of “interest & information” on science and medicine: How much are you personally interested in new scientific discoveries - a lot, some, not much, or not at all? How well informed are you about scientific discoveries - are you very informed, somewhat informed, not very informed, or not at all informed? How much are you personally interested in new medical discoveries -a lot, some, not much, or not at all? How well informed are you about medical discoveries - are you very informed, somewhat informed, not very informed, or not at all informed? 

Religious Guidance:
Whether or not you attend services, do you consider religion to be an important part of your life, or not? 

(IF YES) Would you say your religious beliefs provide some guidance in your day-to-day living, quite a bit of guidance, or a great deal of guidance in your day-to-day living?