Looking for something to talk about between mouthfuls of green bean casserole and cranberry dressing?

Instead of discussing the big game or Friday’s shopping prospects, U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin would like you to consider chatting up your relatives to learn their medical histories in honor of Family Health History Day.

“An important first step in preventing illness is learning about health conditions in our families that may put us at risk for inheriting diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, mental illness, and many others,” said Dr. Benjamin in a press release.  “Discussing family health information with each other can often uncover things you never knew, simply because no one ever asked.”

Here are a few resources to help you get you started:

The U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative
You can use the online tool “My Family Health Portrait” to help guide you in collecting your own family’s health history. (Also available in Chinese, Polish, Spanish, French and Portuguese from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital National Family Health Initiative Website.)

The Genetic Alliance
Links to sites that can help with collecting a family health history, including resources for family reunion organizers who want to incorporate this into their next gathering.

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I’m a bad patient.

Every time I go to a doctor she asks, “Do you have a family history of any diseases?”

I’m ashamed to say that my answer is always “I don’t think so.”

Your family health history is a powerful tool for your doctor; it can help him or her make vital screening and treatment decisions. Yet a recent survey (Porter Novelli Healthstyles 2004) found that although 96% of Americans recognize the importance of their family history, only 33% have ever tried to gather and organize this data for themselves.

23andMe helps people see what their DNA might have to say about a host of common and not-so common diseases and conditions; but we don’t want anyone to think that purchasing our Personal Genome Service™ is a substitute for a detailed family health history.

For example, the effect of the SNPs 23andMe reports on for breast cancer pales in comparison to that of mutations in the well-known BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which run in families and can increase a woman’s breast cancer risk three- to seven-fold (23andMe does not report data on these mutations). So even if your 23andMe data says that you have average or even below-average risk for breast cancer, a strong family history of the disease indicates the strong possibility of a genetic mutation that trumps the information we have gleaned from your SNPs.

In other cases, your family health history might dovetail with your 23andMe data, giving a fuller picture of, and perhaps increasing, your predicted risk for a certain disease. For example, a report published just last week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that a SNP recently associated with lung cancer (customers can see their data in Health and Traits) has a significantly larger effect in people where three or more first-degree relatives have been diagnosed than in people who develop a sporadic case of the disease.

The bottom line: It is very helpful to be aware of your family health history and share it with your medical provider. Here are a few resources to help you get you started:

• The U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative
  For the past four years the Surgeon General has designated Thanksgiving, a time when families naturally gather together, as National Family History Day. You can use the online tool “My Health Portrait” to help guide you in collecting your own family’s health history. (Also available in Chinese, Polish, Spanish, French and Portuguese from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital National Family Health Initiative Website.)

• The Genetic Alliance
  Links to sites that can help with collecting a family health history, including resources for family reunion organizers who want to incorporate this into their next gathering.

Mom, get ready for some questions.

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This Monday acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson issued a Call to Action to reduce the number of people in the United States affected by two serious blood clotting conditions: deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), sometimes called “economy class syndrome” is the formation of a blood clot in a vein deep within the body, usually in the legs. Pulmonary embolism (PE) occurs if the clot breaks free and travels through the circulatory system to the lungs. Together these two conditions affect an estimated 350,000 to 600,000 Americans each year and contribute to at least 100,000 deaths.

“Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms are often ’silent’ conditions — they can occur suddenly and without symptoms,” Galson said in a statement. “But we have made a lot of progress in understanding how these disorders develop and how to prevent, diagnose, and treat them. It’s time to put this knowledge into action.”

Researchers have found that DVT and PE usually develop in response to a triggering event – being hospitalized or confined to bed rest, having major surgery, suffering a trauma, or traveling for several hours — in people who either have an inherited predisposition to blood clotting disorders or another risk factor.

23andMe customers have access to their data for the two most common genetic risk factors for DVT and PE (collectively known as Venous Thromboembolism).

Having the riskier version of one or both of the SNPs 23andMe reports data for (Factor V Leiden and Prothrombin 20210) significantly increases the risk of developing DVT or PE. An estimated 15 to 20 percent of DVT/PE patients have the Factor V Leiden mutation, while 6 percent have the Prothrombin 20210 mutation.

The average risk of DVT/PE in people between the ages of 40 and 59 (anyone can be afflicted, but risk does increase with age) is 2.5%. But in those people in this age group who inherit a copy of the Factor V Leiden mutation, the risk jumps to 11%. Having one copy of the Prothrombin 20210 mutation raises the risk to 8.8%. In the unlucky few who have one copy of each of these mutations, the risk is a 32%. And in the extremely rare case that someone inherits two copies of both mutations, the risk of DVT/PE is 69%.

(This information applies only to those with European ancestry. Average risk numbers are different for other groups, and the genetic risk factors discussed here are not usually found in people with African or Asian ancestry.)

Other risk factors for DVT and PE include being overweight or obese, cancer and its treatment, pregnancy and childbirth, use of hormones for birth control or menopause, and smoking.

“We want to increase the awareness and knowledge of these potentially deadly conditions and encourage patients and health care providers to take the steps to prevent them,” Galson said.

For more information:

• Surgeon General’s Fact Sheet on Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism
• The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis
• Patient and Provider Guides from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (also available in Spanish)

ShareThis

I’m a bad patient.

Every time I go to a doctor she asks, “Do you have a family history of any diseases?”

I’m ashamed to say that my answer is always “I don’t think so.”

Your family health history is a powerful tool for your doctor; it can help him or her make vital screening and treatment decisions. Yet a recent survey (Porter Novelli Healthstyles 2004) found that although 96% of Americans recognize the importance of their family history, only 33% have ever tried to gather and organize this data for themselves.

23andMe helps people see what their DNA might have to say about a host of common and not-so common diseases and conditions; but we don’t want anyone to think that purchasing our Personal Genome Service™ is a substitute for a detailed family health history.

For example, the effect of the SNPs 23andMe reports on for breast cancer pales in comparison to that of mutations in the well-known BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which run in families and can increase a woman’s breast cancer risk three- to seven-fold (23andMe does not report data on these mutations). So even if your 23andMe data says that you have average or even below-average risk for breast cancer, a strong family history of the disease indicates the strong possibility of a genetic mutation that trumps the information we have gleaned from your SNPs.

In other cases, your family health history might dovetail with your 23andMe data, giving a fuller picture of, and perhaps increasing, your predicted risk for a certain disease. For example, a report published just last week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that a SNP recently associated with lung cancer (customers can see their data in Health and Traits) has a significantly larger effect in people where three or more first-degree relatives have been diagnosed than in people who develop a sporadic case of the disease.

The bottom line: It is very helpful to be aware of your family health history and share it with your medical provider. Here are a few resources to help you get you started:

• The U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative
  For the past four years the Surgeon General has designated Thanksgiving, a time when families naturally gather together, as National Family History Day. You can use the online tool “My Health Portrait” to help guide you in collecting your own family’s health history. (Also available in Chinese, Polish, Spanish, French and Portuguese from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital National Family Health Initiative Website.)

• The Genetic Alliance
  Links to sites that can help with collecting a family health history, including resources for family reunion organizers who want to incorporate this into their next gathering.

Mom, get ready for some questions.

ShareThis