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Family members share genes, habits, lifestyles, and surroundings.

These things can affect health and the risk for illness, so it’s important to understand your family health history. Family health history is a record of the health conditions in your family. It tells more than just what diseases run in your family, but includes information about where your family has lived and what kind of work and activities they do.

This can help you see where you and your family face risks to your health. Your healthcare provider can help you understand these risks and suggest the steps to prevent disease or make it less harmful.

Tips on gathering family health history:
You can learn about your family health history from family trees, baby books, old letters, obituaries, or records from place of worship.But the best way to gather information about your family health history is to speak to your relatives.

Some people may be more willing to share health information face to face. Others may prefer answering your questions by phone, mail, or e-mail. However you do it, it is important that you explain why you are asking the questions.

Let your family members know that you are creating a record to find out whether you and your relatives have a family history of certain diseases or health conditions.

Here are some questions to get you started:

Questions About Childhood:

Feel free to add your own questions that are specific to your own family.

Where were you born?

Where did you grow up?

Did you experience any health problems (for example, allergies) as a child?

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

  • Are they living?
  • How old are they?

Questions About Adulthood:

What jobs have you had?

  • Can you tell me about a normal day?

What was your work environment like?

Do you have children?

  • What are their names?
  • When were they born?
  • Did they have any health problems?

Did you have any health problems as an adult?

  • At what age?
  • How was this treated (for example, medicine or surgery)?
Family members may not be able to answer all your questions
In some cases, they may not want to.

Some people may be willing to answer only some of your questions, or ask that you keep some answers between you and your healthcare provider – and that’s okay! Collect the information you can, and respect your relatives’ wishes.

Once you learn about your family health history, you may learn that there are some health conditions that run in your family.

Some genes passed down in a family can increase the chance of getting certain health conditions. You can find out if you are at risk for these diseases that run in families by examining the pattern of disease in your family. Inherited diseases show up in distinct patterns:

One or more close relatives may have the disease.

A disease may occur at much younger ages in your family than it usually does

  • 10 to 20 years before most people get the disease
  • Such as colon cancer in a close relative less than 60 years old.

A family member may have a disease that does not usually affect their gender

  • Such as breast cancer in a man.

There could be certain combinations of diseases within your family

  • For example, breast and ovarian cancer, or heart disease and diabetes.

Your family history may hold important clues for you.

It can't tell the future, but it can give you information that can help you directly.

Learn more

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Family members share genes, habits, lifestyles, and surroundings.

Just the Facts

Do you have the same eye and hair color as many of your family members?

A Little More Detail

Genetics helps explain what makes you unique, why family members look alike, and why some diseases run in families.

A Lot More Detail

Many conditions are caused by one or more genes that do not work correctly in the body.

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4301 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 404 Washington, DC 20008-2369

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Understand Genes and Genetics

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $400,000 with 0 percent financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.

About

The National Genetics Education and Family Support Center (Family Center) provides tools and resources to support family engagement and genetic services.

Contact info

4301 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 404 Washington, DC 20008-2369

[email protected]