Trends over 42 years in the Adult Medical Genetics Clinic

UW researchers analyzed the patients served by the University of Washington Adult Genetic Medicine Clinic (UWAGMC) over a 42-year period (from 1975 to 2016) to determine how clinical services have changed and to evaluate the contributing factors.

They found that referral indications increased with clinical testing availability and because of the academic programs of UWAGMC providers. With increased public awareness of heritable conditions, prescreening self-referrals were used to allocate limited resources. 

These trends demonstrate the need for more geneticists in adult medicine to expand centers of excellence for rare diseases and to serve the increasing numbers of adult patients with genetic conditions.

The article: "Trends over 42 years in the Adult Medical Genetics Clinic at the University of Washington" was published in the October 2018 edition of Nature Genetics in Medicine. Senior author is Dr. Fuki Hisama and division co-authors are Dr. Peters Byers and Robin Bennett.