General Practitioners perspectives on infant telomere length screening after a pregnancy complication: a qualitative analysis.

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy complications can impact the mother and child’s health in the short and longterm resulting in an increased risk of chronic disease later in life. Telomere length is a biomarker of future cardiometabolic diseases and may offer a novel way of identifying offspring most at risk for future chronic diseases. Objective(s): To qualitatively explore General Practitioners’ (GPs) perspectives on the feasibility and uptake for recommending a telomere screening test in children who were born after a pregnancy complication. Methods:Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with GPs within metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed for codes and themes. Results: Two themes were generated: ethical considerations and practical considerations. Ethically, the GP participants discussed barriers including consenting on behalf of a child, parental guilt, and the impact of health insurance, whereas viewing it for health promotion was a facilitator. For practical considerations, barriers included the difficulty in identifying people eligible for screening, maintaining medical communication between service providers, and time and financial constraints, whereas linking screening for telomere length with existing screening would facilitate uptake. Conclusions: GPs were generally supportive of potential telomere screening in infants, particularly via a saliva test that could be embedded in current antenatal care. However, several challenges, such as lack of knowledge, ethical considerations, and time and financial constraints, need to be overcome before such a test could be implemented into practice.