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Family Health History - FAQs:
Knowing your family history can help your doctor predict your risk of developing diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. Family members share their genes, and often share their environment, lifestyles, and habits. Using family history helps identify if you or others in your family that may be at increased risk for disease. A family health portrait given to your primary care provider helps your provider consider both your genes and these other shared risk factors influencing your health.
You can't change your genes, but you can change behaviors that affect your health, such as smoking, inactivity, and poor eating habits. People with a family health history of chronic disease may have the most to gain from making lifestyle changes. In many cases, making these changes can reduce your risk of disease even if the disease runs in your family.
Another change you can make is to participate in screening tests, such as mammogram and colorectal cancer screening, for early detection of disease. People who have a family health history of a chronic disease may benefit the most from screening tests that look for risk factors or early signs of disease. Finding disease early, before symptoms appear, can mean better health in the long run. That's why it's important for your health care provider to know your family health history as well.
Learn More:
Your health care provider will assess your risk of disease based on your family history and other risk factors. Your health care provider may also recommend things you can do to help prevent disease, such as exercising more, changing your diet, or using screening tests to detect disease early.
Learn More:
- Family History (MedlinePlus)
Family health history refers to health information about you and your close relatives. Family history is one of the most important risk factors for health problems like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. (A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease.)
Learn More:
- Surgeon General's Family Health History Initiative (OSG)
- Family History (MedlinePlus)
The Surgeon General's Family Health History Initiative provides 'My Family Health Portrait' as a Web-based tool or a printable chart at https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/fhh-web/home.action. The tool works by guiding you through steps on how to collect and enter family history information and results in a printed family health portrait similar in format to a genetic family tree.
The Web tool is available in both English and Spanish. Printable versions of the tool are available in several other languages.
The best way to learn about your family health history is to talk to your family. Ask questions, catch up at family gatherings, draw a family tree, and record health information. If possible, look at death certificates and family medical records to confirm the information you have collected.
Learn More:
- Surgeon General's Family Health History Initiative
- My Family Health Portrait [English; Spanish]
Even if you do not have a history of a disease in your family, you may still be at risk for that disease. This is because:
- Your lifestyle, personal health history, and other factors influence your chances of getting a disease.
- Your family could have a history of disease that you don't know about.
- You could have family members who died young, before they developed heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or other diseases.
There are no 'good' or 'bad' genes. Most human diseases, especially common diseases such as heart disease, result from the interaction of genes with environmental and behavioral risk factors, both of which can be changed. The best disease prevention strategy for anyone, especially for people with an inherited risk, includes reducing risky behaviors (such as smoking), as well as increasing healthy behaviors (such as regular exercise).
