ArticlePublic health genomics2026
Hope Tempered by Caution: Public Beliefs in the USA about the Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Epigenetic Technologies in Clinical Care.
Article in Public health genomics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionClinical applications of epigenetic technologies could revolutionize precision medicine. However, successful uptake in clinical settings may be influenced by public opinion. We investigated public beliefs about possible benefits and drawbacks of epigenetic-based medical technologies.
methodsWe recruited 153 adults from across the USA to participate in 1 of 27 virtual focus groups, each lasting 45-75 min. Groups were stratified by education (less than bachelor's degree vs. bachelor's degree or more) and race and ethnicity (black or African American, Asian, Indigenous [Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, Alaska Native], Hispanic, and white). Participants viewed an educational video about epigenetics prior to discussion. We used inductive and deductive qualitative content analysis.
resultsParticipants indicated that epigenetic technologies could be used to guide risk-stratified prevention (i.e., engage in behaviors to reduce the risk of developing a health condition; engage in screening and early-detection behaviors to enable early treatment; facilitate clinical history-taking; inform reproductive planning decisions) and to develop novel therapeutics and editing approaches (i.e., new medications; epigenetic editing). However, participants also mentioned concerns about the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSIs) of epigenetics, including exacerbating health disparities; the high cost of treatment and health insurance; promoting eugenics; and epigenetic-based discrimination by healthcare providers. Each of the race, education, and ethnicity strata included content related to each of the three major subthemes of risk-stratified prevention, novel therapeutics, and ELSI considerations.
conclusionEfforts to translate basic epigenetics research to clinical practice hold promise, but it is also critical to create solutions that address people's concerns.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.