Your family health history can help your health care providers develop a more complete picture of your health and determine your risk for certain health conditions and diseases.
When it comes to family, we share a lot with each other. Maybe it’s a favorite recipe passed down from your grandparents, a war story shared by your uncle or a devotion to a particular sports team learned from your parents. But we share more than just recipes and stories with our family members. We also share a lot when it comes to our health and wellness. Our family’s genes, our common behaviors as well as environmental factors we may share, can impact our health and our risk for certain diseases and health conditions.
Learn more about the importance of knowing your family’s health history and what steps you can take to collect the information you need.
What Is a Family Health History?
Your family health history is a record of the diseases and health conditions that run in your family. This information can help your health care providers develop a more complete picture of your health and determine your risk for certain health conditions and diseases.
You and your family members share genes as well as learned behaviors like the foods you eat and your exercise habits. You may also share certain environmental factors that can impact your health, such as exposure to secondhand smoke. Your family health history paints a picture of all these factors and their potential to impact your health.
Why Does It Matter?
Knowing your family’s health history can help you and your health care providers manage your health and wellness. This information can help detect diseases early and identify preventative measures to delay or prevent certain health conditions.
Most people have at least one disease that runs in their families. Maybe it’s a condition such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke or cancer. Or maybe it’s a rarer condition like sickle cell disease or cystic fibrosis. If you have a close family member with a particular disease, you may be more likely to develop it. If more than one person in your family has it, or if a family member developed the disease at a younger age, you’re even more likely to develop it.
Your family’s health history can help your health care provider gain a better understanding of what diseases or health conditions may affect you. Together, you can determine if you need a particular screening, or a lifestyle change based on the information.
For example, women who have no family history of breast cancer or who are considered at normal risk for developing it may start mammograms at the age of 40. But a woman who has a family history of breast cancer may need screenings at an earlier age or get them more frequently. In addition, an individual who has a family history of high blood pressure may be encouraged to make diet or lifestyle changes to help keep their own blood pressure at normal levels.
It’s also important to remember that having relatives with a health condition does not always mean that you will develop that condition. Likewise, a person with no family history of a disorder could still be at risk for developing it.
What Steps Should I Take?
- Collect your family health history. You may already know a lot about your family’s health history, or you may know very little. Family gatherings are a good opportunity to inquire about diseases or health conditions that run in your family. Collect information about your parents, siblings and half-siblings, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. Learn about any major medical conditions, causes of death, the age a disease was diagnosed, the age of death and anything that may be relevant to your health. If you need help getting started, the American Medical Association (AMA) provides a guide for collecting your family’s health history. It includes important health conditions to ask about like vision and hearing loss, cancers, infertility and more.
- Record your family health history. It’s up to you how you record the information you collect. You could use your own system, but there are tools to help if you don’t know where to start. My Family Health Portrait is an online tool from the U.S. Surgeon General that allows you to enter your family health history, save it and update it. If needed, you can print it to share with your family or health care providers. The AMA also offers an example of a family tree diagram that you can use to create a visual display of your family health history if that works better for you.
- Work with your health care providers to reduce risks for certain diseases and health conditions. You can’t change your genes, but you can make lifestyle changes to help reduce your risk for certain diseases. For example, if diabetes runs in your family, you can work with your health care provider to set up regular blood sugar testing. You can also create a healthy diet and exercise plan to help maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk for diabetes. In addition, you can begin screenings at an earlier age if necessary. For example, if someone in your family got colorectal cancer before the age of 50, your health care provider may recommend earlier or more frequent screenings for you.
- Learn more about genetic testing. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a program called Clinical Cancer Genetics Service, which provides world-class genetic testing and counseling to Veterans who may be at risk for cancer. Genetic tests look for differences in your genetic makeup or DNA that are linked to certain health conditions or disease risks, such as breast or prostate cancer. These tests can help your health care team make decisions about your risks for certain diseases and assist you in navigating the information. Check out the article Genetic Testing: Another Tool to Help Fight Cancer to learn more.
- Know your rights. Sharing and collecting your medical information may cause you concern about how the information can or will be used, and who can access it. It can also raise concerns whether it may be used to influence insurance coverage or encourage employment discrimination. Learn more about your privacy rights and the laws surrounding your health information to ensure you’re comfortable with the information you’re collecting and sharing.
The next time your family gathers, make it a point to learn more about your shared health history! What you learn can help you and your health care providers make important and informed decisions about your health and wellness.