Is Reluctance to Share Alzheimer's Disease Biomarker Status with a Study Partner a Barrier to Preclinical Trial Recruitment?
BACKGROUND
Preclinical Alzheimer's disease clinical trials test candidate treatments in individuals with biomarker evidence but no cognitive impairment. Participants are required to co-enroll with a knowledgeable study partner, to whom biomarker information is disclosed.


OBJECTIVE
We investigated whether reluctance to share biomarker results is associated with viewing the study partner requirement as a barrier to preclinical trial enrollment.


DESIGN
We developed a nine-item assessment on views toward the study partner requirement and performed in-person interviews based on a hypothetical clinical trial requiring biomarker testing and disclosure.


SETTING
We conducted interviews on campus at the University of California, Irvine.


PARTICIPANTS
Two hundred cognitively unimpaired older adults recruited from the University of California, Irvine Consent-to-Contact Registry participated in the study.


MEASUREMENTS
We used logistic regression models, adjusting for potential confounders, to examine potential associations with viewing the study partner requirement as a barrier to preclinical trial enrollment.


RESULTS
Eighteen percent of participants reported strong agreement that the study partner requirement was a barrier to enrollment. Ten participants (5%) agreed at any level that they would be reluctant to share their biomarker result with a study partner. The estimated odds of viewing the study partner requirement as a barrier to enrollment were 26 times higher for these participants (OR=26.3, 95% CI 4.0, 172.3), compared to those who strongly disagreed that they would be reluctant to share their biomarker result. Overall, participants more frequently agreed with positive statements than negative statements about the study partner requirement, including 76% indicating they would want their study partner with them when they learned biomarker results.


CONCLUSIONS
This is one of the first studies to explore how potential preclinical Alzheimer's disease trial participants feel about sharing their personal biomarker information with a study partner. Most participants viewed the study partner as an asset to trial enrollment, including having a partner present during biomarker disclosure.
['Cox|C G|CG|', 'Ryan|M M|MM|', 'Gillen|D L|DL|', 'Grill|J D|JD|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D000544:Alzheimer Disease D015415:Biomarkers D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic D030881:Disclosure D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D018579:Patient Selection D062706:Prodromal Symptoms D035842:Research Subjects
biomarker disclosure Alzheimer’s disease