Knowing family history can help determine health risks

• Doctors: Compile family health history over three generations
• Holiday season can be a good time to gather information
• Family history can be a risk factor

Delving into your family background can be more than just an exercise in curiosity. It can help protect your health.

That's why many physicians recommend that patients take time to compile a family health history that goes back, ideally, three generations.

"It gives doctors a picture of the family history to notice if there's patterns of disease in the family or inherited forms of disease that can be passed on," said Dr. Alison Tucker, a family medicine physician with Norton Community Medical Associates. It can be helpful "when we're trying to piece things together."

A family health history can impact decisions on when to get screened for certain health conditions, such as breast or colon cancer, and may affect treatment recommendations. It also may motivate patients to exercise, improve their diet or quit smoking.

"Creating and updating family history helps empower them to be more proactive in their personal health and lifestyle," Tucker said. "You can't pick your parents, and you can't change your genetic makeup, but you can change unhealthy behavior."

Histories can be compiled using good, old-fashioned pen and paper or by using computerized tools, such as the U.S. Surgeon General's My Family Health Portrait tool.

Tucker said she likes to hand out information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assist patients who need help getting started because some people say, "I just don't know how to do this."

Health providers say the holiday season can be a good time to glean information about family medical history since that's when relatives often gather for celebrations and dinners.

Stress the advantage of having a family health history and be clear about what you need to know, Tucker said. "Explain your purpose for requesting information," she said, and "the biggest thing I always tell people is just listen. People will talk if you give them the opportunity."

Dr. Lauren Ashbrook, an internal medicine physician with University of Cincinnati Physicians, said to let relatives know, "I'm not asking to be nosy" but rather to help determine personal health risks.

However, be prepared for the fact that some people may not want to discuss sensitive topics, such as mental-health and substance-abuse issues, said Dr. Michael Punnett, a family physician with Baptist Medical Associates in Louisville.

"Folks don't like to talk about" alcoholism and depression, for example, although they tend to run "pretty strong" in families, Punnett said. He encourages relatives to be "open and honest."

Tucker recommends speaking with relatives one on one instead of trying to discuss it at the dinner table. And make sure you're approaching someone who is knowledgeable, such as an older relative.

"You really want to ask the person in the family that kind of knows the best about your grandparents and your cousins and things like that, that you may not know of," Ashbrook said.

Family history is an important risk factor for such conditions as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer, according to the CDC.

Because of a family history of certain health problems, such as cancer, doctors may suggest that a patient be screened earlier than usual, Punnett said.

Sometimes genetic testing might be recommended to see if the person has inherited a gene, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2, that would increase the risk of a disease, such as breast cancer.

A doctor also may consider family history when deciding whether to prescribe medication. For example, when dealing with things like cholesterol, "we're going to be a lot more aggressive with you if you have a very strong family history of early coronary artery disease," Ashbrook said.

How to gather your family health history

Question: What is a family health history and what should it include?

Answer: It's a written or graphic record of the diseases and health conditions in your family. If possible, it should include three generations of your biological relatives and the ages when health conditions were diagnosed. Also include the age and cause of death of deceased family members.

Q: Where can I get this information?

A: Ask knowledgeable relatives. If possible, look at death certificates and family medical records.

Q: What should I do with the information?

A: Share the history with your doctors. Update the information from time to time. Consider sharing it with relatives and pass it down to your children so they'll have a record of the family health history.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention