NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Old habits are hard to break, but it may be easier when people have the cold, hard facts about their personal risk of disease, research suggests.

Few studies have looked at whether knowing about "biomarkers" like high cholesterol readings spur the average person to make lifestyle changes, but what evidence there is suggests that more information is better, according to one researcher.

In a review of eight studies on the matter, Dr. Jennifer B. McClure of the Center for Health Studies in Seattle, Washington, found that giving patients such personal health information had mixed results in getting them to change their ways.

However, all of the studies that yielded positive results either gave patients information on several of their health indicators or drove home the point about one risk factor by measuring it several times.

McClure reports her findings in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

For example, the researcher found that in a study of smokers, those who had their carbon monoxide levels and genetic susceptibility to lung cancer assessed were twice as likely to attempt quitting as those not given such personal information.

In another study, giving individuals fitness tests plus a "health hazard appraisal"--which estimated their risk of dying from preventable causes in the next 10 years--spurred many to vow to get more exercise.

In addition, McClure reports, studies that combined information with services--such as dietary instruction from a nurse--found greater effects on participants' behavior.

She calls for more research into how and when health indicators help patients make lifestyle changes. Such information, she notes, could be potentially harmful if patients become distressed or feel helpless--particularly when it comes to unchangeable genetic information.

Many of the leading causes of death, however, are related to modifiable factors including smoking, diet and exercise habits.

SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2002;22.

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