By asking a series of questions during a routine checkup, doctors can determine who is at higher risk of certain types of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Despite the progress of DNA testing, knowledge of family history 'is still the most important tool for detecting genetic risk', scientists from the University of Melbourne state in their report, writes today.com.
"If we could find out which people are at increased risk of developing one of the above-mentioned diseases and make appropriate counseling for these high-risk people, it could play a big role in preventing bad outcomes," says Dr. Patricia Ganz, in charge of cancer prevention and control research at UCLA.
"Although general practitioners are trained to find out the family history of their patients, most doctors do not do this unless there is a need for it," said Patricia Ganz, who participated in the Australian study.
Heart disease and stroke are linked to family illnesses. While some diabetes can be hereditary, the disease does not always follow a 'simple pattern'. Some types of cancer, such as ovarian cancer, are linked to the disease in families, but research has shown that only five to ten percent of all cancer cases are caused by mutations in genes inherited from parents.
However, if your doctor doesn't ask you these questions, you can offer the information yourself:
1. Is it neko of your close relatives had heart disease before the age of 60?
Heart diseases include cardiovascular diseases, heart attack, bypass surgery...
2. Did any of your close relatives have diabetes?
Diabetes includes: type 2 diabetes without the need for insulin, the most common form of the disease; type 1, which occurs in children and young adults; and gestational diabetes, which develops during pregnancy.
3. Do you have close relatives who have had melanoma?
Almost one in ten patients diagnosed with melanoma have a family member with a history of the disease.
4. Did any of your close relatives have colon cancer before the age of 55?
It is estimated that one in five people diagnosed with colon cancer have a family history of the disease.
5. Do you have more than one relative on the same side who has had colon cancer at any age?
Including parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, nephews...
6. Did any of your close relatives have prostate cancer before the age of 60?
Prostate cancer is diagnosed in more than 230.000 men annually in America.
7. Has any of your close relatives suffered from ovarian cancer?
Ovarian cancer kills 14.000 women in America each year. In addition to family history, new research links obesity to a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
8. Did any of your close relatives have breast cancer before the age of 50?
Breast cancer is the second leading killer among women, right after lung cancer.
9. Do you have more than one close relative on the same side who was diagnosed with breast cancer at any age?
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