Consider it a family detective story – each family hunting for clues in their own history that might help safeguard their future health and wellbeing.
Developing a family health history is an inexpensive way to help all Americans learn more about factors in their family that can be used to prevent disease and promote personal health in this and future generations, said Dr. John Mulvihill, a geneticist with OU Physicians and also professor of pediatrics and chair of the Department of Genetics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. What better time to start developing the history then during holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas when families gather together, he asked.
Mulvihill and his team at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center head the new Heartland Genetics Consortium. The group unites geneticists in Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, and the Dakotas.
“Family history taking is one of the cheapest genetics tests you can do,” Mulvihill said. “It’s just a biopsy – a look at the conditions to which you are predisposed. Just because there is a predisposition doesn’t mean that it is inevitable. Instead, it may point to important changes you can make to protect yourself. Who wouldn’t want to protect themselves against breast cancer? Against colon cancer? Against neurologic disorders?”
Jean Burns agrees with the idea, noting the instances of certain illnesses in her family. She began working up what’s known as a health “pedigree” for her family. She began by asking questions of her siblings, aunts, uncles, and other generations within her family.
“It was very important,” she said of the family health tree, which is similar to a regular family tree, but tracks illnesses rather than just lineage. “We know that by looking at a lot of families, several families will have members who have had cancer or will develop cancer. And it seems like certain families will have more members than others.
“I knew when I was growing up we had two aunts who had died of ovarian cancer and later on, our grandparents,” she continued. “It didn’t really occur to us that it could be because of a specific problem that was inherited. When several of us (cousins and siblings) reached a certain age, health problems started cropping up in our personal lives. We had no idea that this might go back to family members who had died earlier.”
By drawing the family health tree, Mulvihill said families can see potential problems and take steps to make lifestyle changes to minimize their risks. Making the tree is very simple, he added.
“Draw a little bit of the family tree and say, ‘What did every person die of?’ You could also ask, ‘who in the family has had cancer?’ ‘Who’s had heart disease,” he said.
After making the tree, Mulvihill said you need to understand what it means and families may need some medical advice for the interpretation.
“We have genetic counselors to help with that interpretation at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the OU Medical Center,” he noted. “Sometimes, genetic testing is necessary to address a suspicion a doctor might have. Maybe there is a predisposition to cancer or a neurologic disease such as muscular dystrophy in a family that could have an impact on the next couple in the family that might get pregnant.”
Knowing your family health history is important, Burns said, even if it is just building the tree and talking to a counselor. Emily Lawhorn, Burns’ daughter, agreed. She finds the information empowering.
“I would personally want to know up front and be educated so I can kind of be on the lookout for it,” Lawhorn said. “Not that I’m dreading it every day, but just to be aware of things that I could be doing in the meantime to take precautions, just to be watchful. And that way if something did happen we would know early on and with would be easier to catch and easier to fix.”
Genetics experts with OU Physicians point out additional information on creating a family health history is available online from the U.S. Department of Health and Human services at: www.hhs.gov/familyhistory.
Once the information on family health history is gathered, a visit with a genetics counselor can help put it in proper perspective. The OU Physicians’ Genetics Team is available at (405) 271-8685.