Wellness Articles
Discuss your family health history during the holidays
While talking about diabetes and heart disease over a second helping of pumpkin pie may not seem to be the most pleasant of conversations, the holidays present an excellent opportunity to explain to relatives that sharing health information can potentially lead to better medical outcomes for all.
Knowing hereditary risks empowers patients and their health care practitioner to take steps to catch disease at earlier, potentially more treatable stages, or prevent it altogether.
Ideally, a genetic health history involves studying the entire family
picture. This includes parents, siblings, and even children
(first-degree relatives); aunts, uncles, grandparents, and half-siblings
(second-degree relatives); and cousins, great aunts and uncles,
great-grandparents (third-degree relatives).
The Surgeon General recommends an internet- based tool that makes it easy to record your family health history and to share among family members. With "My Family Health Portrait" it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to build a basic family health history.
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