Dietitians’ and nutritionists’ knowledge of nutritional genomics and perception toward genetic testing for a personalized approach in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) prevention and management in India: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Objective: Dietitians and nutritionists have been identified as healthcare professionals who are well positioned to interpret and communicate aspects of nutritional genomics into practical and effective dietary recommendations. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess dietitians’ and nutritionists’ knowledge of essential concepts in nutritional genomics; and perceptions toward genetic testing. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among dietitians and nutritionists using an online questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: About 142 dietitians and nutritionists were included in the study. The majority of the respondents were female (88%). Around 61.3% had work experience ranging between 1 and 5 years. The knowledge score on nutritional genomics indicated 9% (n = 13) of them scored high, 42% (n = 59) scored medium, and 49% (n = 70) scored low scores. The average knowledge score was 42.3%, indicating a low level of knowledge of genetics and nutritional genomics. The mean perception was 3.85 on a scale from 1 (extremely negative) to 5 (extremely positive), which may be an overall positive perception of applying nutritional genomics into practical and effective dietary recommendations. The findings revealed a statistically significant link between knowledge and perception level, on-job training, and continuing education in nutritional genomics. Perception scores were shown to be positively associated with higher knowledge levels. Conclusions: Dietitians and nutritionists have low knowledge but a high perception level of nutritional genomic. Most of them were informed about nutrigenomics and had a favorable opinion, regardless of whether they had previously studied nutrigenomics as a college-level subject.