Table 1.

Glossary of Terms

Gene by environment (GxE) interaction: different effect of an environmental exposure on disease risk in persons with different genotypes or a different effect of a genotype on disease risk in persons with different environmental exposures.a

Genetics: the study of heredity.b

Genomics: the study of genes and their functions, and related techniques.b

Genomic health literacy: the capacity to obtain, process, understand, and use genomic information for health-related decision making.c

Genomic literacy: the working knowledge of genomic science and its role in society, including personal decision-making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity.c

Genomic science literacy: the knowledge of basic genetics and genomics concepts and the processes needed to build conceptual understanding, and the necessary mathematical knowledge to support this comprehension.c

Health literacy: the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.d

Mental model: an explanation or representation of an individual’s thoughts about a topic and resulting consequences.e

^aOttman, R. 1996. “Gene-environment interaction: definitions and study designs.” Preventive Medicine 25 (6):764-70.

^bWorld Health Organization. 2002. “Genomics and World Health Report of the Advisory Committee on Health Research.” Geneva.

^cHurle, B., Cirtin, T., Jenkins, J., Kapingst, K., Lamb, N., Roseman, J.E., Bonhman, V.L. 2013. “What does it mean to be genomically literate?: National Human Genome Research Institute Meeting Report.” Genetics in Medicine 15 (8):658-53.

^dInstitute of Medicine. 2004. “Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion.” Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

^eJohnson-Laird, P.N. 2010. “Mental models and human reasoning.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107 (43):18243-18250.