Know your family’s health history

July 15, 2010 | In: Medical facts

To find clues to your future health, look to your family tree an important source of information about the genetic and environmental factors that combine to influence your personal health. Physicians use family health histories all the time to help in diagnosing and preventing disease. They can offer invaluable information about diseases or conditions a person may be predisposed to.

A family health history is a record of pertinent medical information about your relatives. Family histories should be traced back at least two generations. Grandparents and parents provide the most important information about direct risk. However, information about the health of siblings and aunts and uncles can help provide a more complete family picture.

Health histories should note the age, or age of death, of these relatives, as well as any specific medical conditions, such as heart disease or cancers. Especially important is a history of colon cancer and, for women, breast or ovarian cancer. It is essential to note the age of onset of diseases.

Your family’s health history can be gathered by speaking directly with your immediate relatives or other family members. If parents are deceased, it is possible for children to request their medical records from the hospital within five to 10 years following their death.

Armed with information about pertinent health problems within your family, a physician can help tailor your own health plan.