Family history
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Family history
Having a family history means that a person has one or more blood relatives with a certain health problem. A doctor can look at a person's family history to get some idea of the person's risk for that health problem.
Blood relatives include relatives who are alive and who have died. They may be:
- First-degree relatives (parents, sisters, brothers, and children).
- Second-degree relatives (aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and grandparents).
- Third-degree relatives (first cousins).
Some family histories are stronger than others. How strong a family history is depends on:
- How closely related a person is to the relatives with the health problem.
- How many relatives had or have the health problem.
Credits
| Author | Robin Parks, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman, MATC |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD - Cardiology |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition |
| Last Updated | May 29, 2008 |
| Last updated: | May 29, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Robin Parks, MS |
| Reviewed By: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition |
| Editors: | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman, MATC |
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