Family History is Important for Your Health

The U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative

What determines your risk for disease?

Risk Factors A risk factor increases your risk of

developing a disease or health problem.

Behaviors and lifestyle

Environment

Genes

Risk Factors for DiseaseEnvironmen

tEnvironmental risk factors include exposures to harmful agents in food, water and air.

Risk Factors for Disease

Behavioral and lifestyle risk factors include poor diet, lack of physical activity, smoking, abuse of alcohol, and failure to get recommended screening tests.

Behaviors and lifestyle

Risk Factors for DiseaseGenes

Genes provide the directions for building all of the proteins that make our bodies function. Genes are passed down by parents to their offspring. Some genes may not function properly leading to disease.

Interaction

Genes

Environment

Behaviors

Genes, environment, and behaviors interact with each other to cause

disease.

Risk Factors for Disease

Family history helps capture the effects

of these interactions on disease risk.

Risk Factors for Disease

Behaviors

Genes

Environment

A family’s combination of shared genes, environment, behavior, and culture

What is family history?

We all have a family history of something!

heart disease

cancer

diabetes

stroke

obesity

high blood pressure

high cholesterolasthma

arthritis emphysema

allergies

kidney disease

osteoporosis

depression

Alzheimer’s

curly hair

blue eyes

athleticism

leanness

acne

Family history is a risk factor for diseases throughout all stages of

life

infantschildren

adolescentsadults

older adults

birth defectsblood

disorders

Alzheimer’s disease

osteoporosis

cancerheart disease

diabetesdepression

asthmaautism

• Learn about diseases that run in your family

• Take advantage of screening tests that can detect disease at an early stage when it is most treatable

• Change unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, inactivity and poor eating habits

How can your family history help you?

How can you collect your family history?

• Ask questions

• Talk at family gatherings

• Draw a family tree

• Write down the information

• Look at death certificates, family medical records, etc.

What information do you need?

• Major medical conditions and causes of death

• Age family member developed disease and age

at death

• Ethnic background

• General lifestyle factors like heavy drinking and

smokingUncle Bill – smoked cigarettes since he was a

teenager,

had a heart attack at age 52

Example:

What relatives should be included?

• you

• children

• siblings

• parents

• grandparents

• aunts and uncles

• nieces and nephews

What should you do with the information?

• Organize the information

• Share it with your health professional

• Keep it updated

• Pass it on to your children

How health professionals organize family history

you siblings

children nieces & nephews

parents

grand-parents

grand-parents

aunts &

uncles

To learn to draw a family tree like this, go to http://www.nsgc.org/consumer/

What will your health professional do with the information?

• Determine your risk for disease based on: - number of family members with the

disease- the age when they were diagnosed- how you are related to the family

member

• Consider other disease risk factors

• Recommend screening tests and lifestyle changes

Both of Shirley’s parents developed diabetes by the time they were 60

With these risk factors - family history, overweight, poor diet – should Shirley be concerned about diabetes?

Shirley knows she doesn’t always eat right and she is overweight. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds.

Shirley wonders about her risk for diabetes

Diabetes: Strong Risk - losing weight, eating a healthymother, 43 yrs diet and increasing physical activityfather, 59 yrs - regular blood sugar screening

uncle, 50 yrs (father’s side) aunt, 59 yrs (father’s side)

Heart Disease: Moderate Risk - losing weight, eating a healthymother, 66 yrs diet and increasing physical activityuncle, 68 yrs (mother’s side) - regular cholesterol screening

- regular blood pressure screening - possibly take aspirin regularly

Shirley’s doctor Family history Assessment recommends:

Shirley has heard that diabetes can run in the family, so she asked her health professional to assess her risk.

Shirley’s Family History

She learned that she had increased risk for diabetes and heart disease. Her family history was a risk factor, in addition to her weight.

How did Shirley’s family history help her?

Shirley started getting more regular screenings for • blood sugar• blood pressure and • cholesterol

She talked to her health professional about losing weight through healthy eating and physical activity programs that were right for her.

People with a family history of disease may have the most to gain from lifestyle changes and screening tests!

Do people care about their family health history?

In a CDC-based survey of over 4,000 individuals:

• 97% thought that knowledge of family health history was important

• But, only 30% had actually ever collected health information from relatives to develop a family health history.

Healthstyles Survey, 2004

Goals of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative

• Increase awareness among the public and health professionals of the value of family history for disease prevention.

• Provide new tools to gather information, assess risk, and guide prevention strategies.

• Increase genomics and health literacy.

• Prepare the public and health professionals for the coming era in which genomics will be an integral part of regular health care.

A free web-based tool for collecting family history, available in both English and Spanish, can be accessed from: www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/

My Family Health Portrait: Print Version

• Free print version also available in English and Spanish

• Call: 1-888-275-4772 or visit www.ask.hrsa.gov

U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative

A collaboration of the following federal agencies:

Family History Resources

• U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative

www.hhs.gov/familyhistory

• CDC, Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention

www.cdc.gov/genomics/public/famhist.htm

Prevention is Primary… Create Your Family’s Future!