Family Health History Health project

What is family Health history This refers to information about disease and health conditions that affect you and your close blood relatives. Family members share their genes and their environment, and sometimes their lifestyles and habits. A family health history helps determine if you are at an increased risk of disease because it reflects your genes and these other risk factors.

How can knowing help lower risk of disease You can’t change your genes, but you can change behaviors that affect your health, such as smoking, being inactive, and having poor eating habits. If you have a personal or family history of chronic disease you may have the most to gain from making life-style changes.

Aspects of family health history affect my risk of disease Everyone’s family health history is different. The key features that increase your risk are: Disease that occur at an earlier age than expected (10-20 yrs most people get the disease) Disease in more than one close relative Disease that does not usually affect a certain gender (ex.. Breast cancer in males) Certain combinations of disease within a family (ex. Breast cancer; ovarian cancer, or heart disease and diabetes) Sometimes, a pattern of disease in a family may be a sign of a disease that is passed on from generation to generation

Project Step 1- family information: Yourself/ Your siblings ( 2 at most) your parents / their siblings ( 2 at most) your grandparents on both sides & if possible your great grandparents. Next to each family member’s name: write down everything you know about their health and medical history. DOB/ Death , medical illness /disease/ condition that they have or died from- if still living, ( or not) highlight either positive or negative health behaviors ( exercise, sleep, consumption of fatty foods etc. of which contributed or reduced their life or quality of life or took away from it ; examples of the tree ( layout) will be shown in class to demonstrate how this should look!

Information to be Included on the tree for each family member Age or date of birth Date of death for family Members who have passed away Height and weight For those with medical problems: write down if obese, smoked, exercise habits, etc.. How old were they when they were diagnosed with condition Where each side of family comes from originally (ex.. England, Germany etc..) Medical conditions such as: Cancer Heart disease Diabetes Asthma Mental illness High blood pressure Stroke Kidney disease Birth defects (spina bifida, cleft lip, heart defect) Learning problems or mental retardation Vision or hearing loss at a young age Known genetic conditions, like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease

10 Questions to ask your family What traits seem to run in our family? Did my family members have any health problems? How old were my family members when their health problems started or were diagnosed? How old were my family members when they died What were the reasons they died? Where were my family members born? Did any of my family members smoke? If yes, how much and for how long? What other lifestyles habits did my family members have? What types of allergies did my family members have?