Family tree may provide root of disease

Talking about diseases at your next family function may not sound like fun to most, but according to a new public health campaign launched by U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, discussing and documenting your family’s health history may actually add years to your life.

Health care professionals have known for a long time that common diseases – heart disease, cancer, and diabetes – and even rare diseases like hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia – can run in families. If one generation of a family has high blood pressure, chances are, the next generation may have it.

St. John’s professionals say knowing a family’s health history is a powerful screening tool.

“It’s estimated that 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancers are thought to be hereditary,” says Rita Snavely, RN, MSN, a family nurse practitioner for St. John’s Clinic – General & Pediatric Surgery. “We offer genetic counseling to patients to calculate their risk for having an inherited susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer. The key indicators are a family history of cancer and whether the patient has or has had early-onset breast cancer. We can also perform a blood test to find out if the patient actually has the genetic mutation. The results of that test can help the patient and her surgeon determine if prophylactic (preventive) surgery or medication such as tamoxifen, are appropriate.”

Parkinson’s disease, a neurological condition characterized by trembling, stiffness and balance problems, is also thought to run in families. St. John’s neurologist Thomas Habiger, M.D., thinks the surgeon general’s family health tree is a great idea.

“We’re learning more and more every day about the role of genetics in Parkinson’s disease,” he says. “Knowing your family’s health history can give clues about prognosis, progression and treatment of this and other diseases.”

TO DOWNLOAD: My Family Health Portrait

Because family health history is such a powerful screening tool, the Surgeon General has created a new computerized tool to create a family health portrait. The tool, called "My Family Health Portrait" can be downloaded for free at www.hhs.gov/familyhistory.

How Can Knowing My Health History Help Lower My Risk Of Disease?

You can’t change your genes, but you can change the behaviors that increase your risk for disease, such as smoking, a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits. If you already have a family history of chronic disease, you have the most to gain from living a healthy lifestyle. In many cases, making lifestyle changes can reduce your risk for disease even if the disease runs in your family.

Health Risk Assessments

St. John’s Corporate Health & Wellness offers health-risk assessments on a regular basis. For more information, or to schedule an HRA, call 417-820-3400.