Why a Family Health History Matters

We’ve come a long way as a society to reduce stigma surrounding certain health conditions. As a result, it can be easier to talk with your relatives about their current and past medical conditions to gather information for compiling a family health history.

Why It Matters

Many health problems run in families, including cancer, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Because you inherited genes from your parents, you may be at greater risk of developing diseases influenced by genes that you share. With a better understanding of your family’s health history, you’ll know which diseases you’re at risk for. Having the medical history of their birth parents and other blood relatives is particularly important for people who were adopted.

With a family health history in hand, you can then:

• Educate yourself about the signs to watch for
• Talk to your doctor about steps you can take to reduce risk
• Add the history to your medical records for future reference
• Get lab tests and other screenings to detect a disease early
• Take action to prevent a disease from occurring

How to Get Started

To create a family health history, start by mapping out your family tree. Begin with yourself and your siblings, then work backwards to place your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on a family tree diagram. You can search for the term family tree to find examples and templates to use. 

Once your family tree is set up, talk with as many family members on it as you can. Family gatherings or reunions can be a good opportunity to gather information from relatives you don’t see often. Explain what you are doing and why it’s important. If a relative is hesitant, you can offer to find a private place to talk or set up a time to contact them later.

Ask relatives not only about their own health conditions, but what they know about the medical issues other family members have faced. This will give you some leads that you can pursue and confirm in discussions with other relatives.

As you get information, you can keep track of it by using the U.S. Surgeon General’s My Family Health Portrait site or by using the simple form from our Healthwise library.

Questions to Ask

When talking with a relative about their health history, here are some questions to ask:

• Where and what year were you born?
• Do you have any chronic, ongoing health problems?
• What serious conditions have you had in the past?
• How old were you when the condition first developed?
• How did it progress and what was the resolution, if any?

In addition to discussing their own health, ask these questions about other family members:

• Have there been any birth defects among family members?
• Has anyone in the family had learning or developmental difficulties?
• Did any family members have mental health issues?
• What illnesses did a family member have?
• How old was a family member when they died?
• What did a family member die of?

It’s OK if a relative doesn’t know the complete details. Any information they can provide will help you in putting the puzzle together.

Filling in the Gaps

Once you’ve talked with as many relatives on the family tree as you can, it’s time to identify gaps in the family health history and fill them in.

Here are some places to look for information:

• Newspaper archives for obituaries and other articles
• State and county records for death certificates with cause of death listed
• Adoption agency records
• Genealogy websites

What to Do With Your History

Once you have compiled your family health history, be sure to share it with your doctor. Knowing your family’s health history, even if it’s incomplete, will help your doctor determine which screenings you should have and when you should start them. Your doctor can also recommend lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk.

Keep your family’s health history up-to-date and offer a copy to your children and other relatives so they can benefit from it too.