Your Family Health Portrait

What is my family health history?

How are diseases linked in families?

If certain illnesses are common in your family tree, you may be at risk for those illnesses, too. When you were conceived, you received half of your genetic material from your father, of course, and the other half from your mother. This is why you are unique and yet similar to your siblings. The genetic material is called DNA, and it determines many things such as your eye color, the shape of your nose and whether your hair is curly or straight. It also plays a role in your health. Many diseases have a genetic component; the DNA you inherited from your parents has been in your family tree and shared with your extended family members since your family tree began. This DNA can make you more or less susceptible to certain illnesses or diseases.

Knowing which diseases are common in your family can alert your physician to areas of concern. Gaining this knowledge also means that you are given the opportunity to possibly prevent future illness.

According to Dr. Susan Lontkowski, an OB/GYN specialist with Riverside Medical Group in Williamsburg: “Understanding your family’s past medical history is crucial because it helps identify what risks are not necessarily obvious. For example, inheriting the BRAC1 or BRAC2 gene identifies women at higher risk for breast or ovarian cancer who should seek early and more involved cancer screening.” One should also understand family medical history to practice proper preventative care, she adds. “People with a family history of heart disease must focus on diet and exercise—even those younger patients who might not consider such things.”

Once I know my family’s health history, what do I do with it?

Almost every time you see a doctor, you are asked to fill out some forms that question you about the health status of your extended family. Says Dr. Jay Floyd of Riverside Williamsburg Medical Arts/Urgent Care: “Before doing the physical exam or starting any diagnostic testing, the [patient’s] history must be obtained.” Floyd says the history-taking process often begins with a review of forms that the patient has completed before entering the exam room. Thoroughly completing the forms is important, says Floyd, because it allows the provider to better understand the patient’s presenting complaints and additional factors that may be at play. “For example, if a 54-year-old man complains of chest pain, knowing that he has a prior history of hypertension and high cholesterol—and that his father had a heart attack at age 52—becomes critical in the management of his problem. Failure to obtain sufficient historical detail could lead to a missed diagnosis.”

If you have taken the time to learn about your family’s health history, you will be able to better understand your own health, and your physician will be better able to determine the probability of your developing a genetic disease. This information can determine which screenings you should get or which medicines you might be a candidate for.

Your physician may have you take a genetic test or refer you to a genetic counselor or geneticist who can help you interpret your genetic makeup. A geneticist can even tell you the risks of passing on a specific gene to your children.

Genetic versus other diseases

It is important to note that not all disorders and diseases have a genetic component. Something as simple as the common cold is not inherited. While certain types of cancers can run in families, some do not have a known genetic component—which is why it’s important to still follow standard guidelines for screening and detection even if a history of cancer doesn’t run in your family. Your family’s health history cannot protect you from all illness, but it can provide a portal to a healthier future.

What changes can I make to stay healthy?

Most common diseases are a combination of both genetic makeup and environmental factors. You cannot change the DNA you inherited from your family tree, but you can control your lifestyle choices to help push the odds in your favor. Smoking and obesity are good examples of risk factors that you can choose to avoid. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, followed by obesity. You can reduce your risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes—which all have a genetic component—by choosing not to smoke and by maintaining a healthy body weight. And, when you are aware of your medical risks, you can make informed decisions about prevention and screening.

Compiling your family health history

Start by talking with your parents and older relatives. Be sure to respect the privacy of those relatives who may not want to share their medical histories. Ask questions at family reunions or at other family gatherings. Some families have existing family trees (a great place to start), and information may also be stored in baby books or family Bibles.

Offer to share with others the information you obtain, and encourage everyone to document the information before it gets lost or forgotten.

If you are adopted, you can ask your parents if they have any information on your biological parents or if they can give you the name of the adoption agency they used. Keep a written list of all the medical and health information you gather. Include yourself, your children, your parents, your siblings and your nieces and nephews. Go backwards a generation at a time and include information on aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. For each of these relatives, try to get information on their date of birth, age of death and cause of death. Ethnicity and race are also important as some disorders are specific to these items. If some information is unavailable, write down what you think might have happened. Include information on cancers, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, asthma, mental illness, alcoholism and any other health conditions that you come across as well as the ages at which the conditions occurred. Also try to collect data on birth defects, learning problems and vision or hearing problems. If you know that your uncle died of a heart attack at the age of 45, include that he smoked a pack of cigarettes a day and weighed 300 pounds.

What if I don’t know my family’s health history?

It’s not always possible to know medical information from your biological family. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t tell the doctor about your guardian family’s health legacy. Genetic inheritance is just one factor in your health history. Including information on your guardian family helps your physician understand the shared cultural, social and environmental risk factors.

What do I do with the information I collect?

Share your data with relatives, and remember to update your records every few years. Equally important, give all of this information to your primary care physician. Dr. Jay Floyd believes that any good family health history begins with the clinician listening to the patient tell his or her story. “The importance of the medical history cannot be overstated,” he says. “It may constitute perhaps up to 50 percent of the diagnostic information needed to provide treatment.”

Written By Rachael Yunis