PLANNING AHEAD FOR HEALTH

GENETIC ALLIANCE BY SHARON ROMELCZYK, MPA AND JESSICA HANDY

Staying healthy through the holidays and winter months can be a challenge, especially with all the travel, stress, and
germs that usually come with this time of year. Staying healthy requires more than just good hygiene, healthy eating, and exercise. Did you know your family can play an important role in your preventive health? The holidays are an ideal time to talk to your family about family health history and conditions that may run in your family.

HOW DOES KNOWING YOUR FAMILY HEALTH HISTORY HELP?
A complete family health history can help you see trends in your family’s health that may not be noticed without it. Armed with this information, you can talk to your healthcare provider about what the trends may mean for your health. Your healthcare provider may then refer you to a genetic counselor for genetic testing to know for sure if there is a genetic component at work. Then, together you can take preventative steps and monitor your health
more closely to ensure early detection if it does develop. Even if there isn’t a genetic link, you will have much more knowledge about yourself and your family that you can share with your doctor and future generations. The information you gather can also be a push to make healthy lifestyle changes. Noticing trends of obesity, heart conditions, or high blood pressure can allow you to step back and make healthy choices in terms of your diet and exercise that can prevent these conditions from affecting you or your family in the future.

WHAT IS A FAMILY HEALTH HISTORY?
A family health history is a living document that records a family’s unique history of medical records, as well as their eating habits, activities, and occupations. When hearing the phrase “health history,” one may think that this just means taking note of illnesses or trips to the doctor’s office, but a family health history actually deals with much, much more. Both genetics and the environment play a role in a person’s health. Factors like the environment someone lives and works in, as well as lifestyle choices, like what you eat and how much you exercise, also play a role. That is why a family health history covers each family member’s traditional “medical history” such as
any illnesses, surgeries, vaccinations, and other information such as past/current jobs, where each person has lived, exercise habits, hobbies, and more.

GENETIC CONDITIONS
Everyone has their own individualized set of genes that they get from their parents. While these genes vary from person to person, there are many similarities, especially in families. The effects of some of these genes may be more obvious, for instance, in determining our sex and hair, eye, and skin color. But their effects may also be a little less obvious, determining how our bodies work and even causing or predisposing us for many health conditions. Genetic conditions are a result of a mutation, or error in a gene. Genetic conditions are presented similarly to other genetically determined factors, like our hair and eye color, in that they can also be dominant or recessive. If a genetic condition is autosomal dominant, only one allele of the mutated gene needs to be passed from either parent. In terms of genetic conditions, this means that if one of the parents has the condition, he or she has a 50 percent
chance of passing it to the child. Huntington’s disease, a condition that affects both muscle coordination and cognition, is an autosomal dominant condition. Genetic conditions can also result from a random mutation. In some cases, researchers can identify the gene(s) with the mutation, but in other cases the cause of the genetic condition may be unknown.

Genes are not the only determinant of health that parents pass on to their children. They also often pass on their beliefs, habits, diets, and environment. Especially at a young age, children do not generally have much say in where they live or what they eat. Parents expose them to whatever they choose, whether that means fast food or vegetarian, an urban neighborhood or rural, playing sports or watching TV, etc. Not only will these factors determine how we develop physically and our tastes in the future, but also our health.

YOUR FAMILY HEALTH HISTORY
Below are some tips on how to get started and what information to include in a family health history. For more information on genetics, genetic conditions, and how to collect your family health history, visit www.GenesInLife.org. GenesInLife.org has resources and information for individuals and families that explain genetics as it relates to your and your family’s health.

GETTING STARTED :
The first thing you should do is start with yourself and everything you know. Then, move out to your closest relatives (i.e. parents, siblings, children) and any grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. The more information, the better, but don’t worry if you can’t get everything right away – the history will grow with you as you go.

INFORMATION TO GATHER
As mentioned earlier, a family health history is more than just medical history. Here are some suggestions for what to include for each person in your family health history.

THE BASICS:
• Name and relation (i.e. mom)
• Ethnicity, race, or nationality
• Date place of birth
• Cause of death, if applicable

HEALTH HISTORY:
• Any health condition (i.e. cancer, diabetes, etc.) and age of onset
• Asthma and allergies
• Birth defects
• Developmental delays
• High blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.
• Medications, immunizations
• Mental health conditions
• Obesity
• Pregnancy/fertility (i.e. number of children, miscarriages, etc.)
• Surgeries
• Vision or hearing impairments

LIFESTYLE:
• Exercise
• Habits (i.e. smoking, drinking, etc.)
• Hobbies and activities
• Nutrition and diet
• Occupation

METHODS OF COLLECTING
To get all the information you need to have a full family health history, you will probably have to reach out to many different members of your family. This can be done a number of different ways, and it is entirely up to you how you do it – what really matters is the information you gather!

If you aren’t sure how to start, here are a few options to consider:
1. Look at everything you already have: Baby books, scrapbooks, family trees and charts can all be a valuable source of family information, including information you can use in our family health history. Talking to your doctor can also help refresh parts of your own personal health history to include.
2. Talk one-on-one or in groups: You may talk to some family members very frequently, others you may talk to only once or twice a year, if at all. Depending on your own situation it may be easier for you to either talk to one family member at a time, or just to talk to everyone at once (for instance at a family gathering or holiday event).
3. Send out a survey: If you or your family members aren’t very close, or are a little shy about talking about your health histories, a survey (online or print) can be an effective way to get the information you need. Free survey design websites and applications like SurveyMonkey and Google Form can make designing the survey and
gathering the results very simple – just make sure you present the questions clearly so your family members don’t get confused!

SUGGESTED QUESTIONS
Still not sure what to ask or how to ask it? Don’t worry; here are some suggestions to put you on the right track, but feel free to add your own!

QUESTIONS ABOUT CHILDHOOD:
• Where were you born?
• Where did you grow up?
• Did you have any health problems (i.e. allergies, etc.)?
• Do you have any siblings? Are they living? How old are they?

QUESTIONS ABOUT ADULTHOOD:
• What jobs have you had?
• Do you have children? Age? Do they have health problems?
• What habits do you have that affect your health?
• Have you had any health problems? How were they treated?

QUESTIONS ABOUT FAMILY LIFE:
• Has your family lived anywhere that directly impacted their health?
• What foods do you typically eat?
• Are there any diseases that may run in the family? •

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Sharon Romelczyk serves as a Program Manager at Genetic Alliance, a nonprofit health advocacy organization
focused on transforming health for individuals, families, and communities.
Jessica Handy is a current student and intern at Genetic Alliance, focusing on creating and disseminating family friendly materials around genetics and health to communities

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