Family Health History
Family history is more than learning about your heritage or a pleasant trip down memory lane. In fact, the more details you know about your family health history, the better—for your own health, and that of your children.
Ronak Shah, MD, medical director at Mass General Brigham Urgent Care, shares why keeping track of this information and sharing with your health care team is so important.
What is a family health history?
A family health history is a record of the medical conditions in your family. This can include:
- Cancers like breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer
- Metabolic conditions like diabetes, kidney disease, or obesity
- Neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis (MS) , or Parkinson’s disease
- Mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety
Other elements of your family health history may include behaviors, like exercise, sleep, and eating habits. Environmental factors, like your occupation and where your family lives, also play a role, says Dr. Shah.
Why is it important to know your family health history?
If you have a close family member with a chronic disease, you may be more likely to develop that disease yourself, especially if they were diagnosed at a young age. There may be a genetic component to the disease, or there may be lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your risk. If you have information about your family health history, you can take preventive measures.
The more information you have on your family’s health, the better, especially for immediate family members. This includes:
- Parents
- Children
- Your siblings
- Grandparents
Information on other family members like aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews might be helpful to have as well. You don’t need to include family members who you aren’t related to by blood, such as stepparents, adopted relatives, or your spouse.
What family health information is important?
Information that can help your doctor includes:
- Major medical issues, and the age of your family member when they first had the issue
- Medications taken by family members
- Causes of death for family members who have passed away
- Environment and lifestyle factors
- Any history of substance use disorder
- Ethnic background
What does a doctor do with a family health history?
While you can’t change the genes you’ve inherited from your family members, you may be able to reduce your risk of developing the chronic diseases that run in your family. Sharing your family health history with your primary care provider (PCP) and other specialists can help them ensure you get the right care at the right time.
For example, your health care provider may recommend additional health screening tests, like mammograms for breast cancer, colonoscopies for colorectal cancers, and bloodwork to monitor for high cholesterol or diabetes. Your doctor also may recommend lifestyle changes regarding nutrition, exercise, and how to quit smoking.
“Family history can also be useful in calculating risk of passing a disease to your child, as done in prenatal counseling,” says Dr. Shah. “As technology improves and scientists gather more and more genetic information from our cells, doctors will be able to provide more precise calculations of your risk of various diseases.”
