Record family health history

Family health history is usually recorded in the memories of family members—you know that your grandfather died of colon cancer for example, or that your aunt had diabetes. But recording these histories in detail may help you navigate your own health course.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only three in 10 people record their family health history. Yet the incidence of disease is much higher among people with a family history of the same disease. Knowing your genetic risk may be the best preventive medicine there is.

Keeping record of your family health history isn’t difficult; however, it may take some sleuthing or a phone call or letter to relatives you have spoken with for a while. But your efforts could very well make a difference in your own health and the health of future family members.

For more information check out these free online resources:
U.S. Surgeon General’s Family Health History Initiative http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s division of Genomics and Disease Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/public/famhistMain.htm