10 Questions to ask your family about health history

Talk about it

• What traits seem to run in our family?

(You don’t have to ask only about health — start with anything from your family’s blue eyes or curly hair to your height and personality — just to get your family talking.)

• Did our family members have any health problems?

• How old were our family members when their health problem started or were diagnosed?

• How old were our family members when they died?

(If you don’t know exact dates, ask about the approximate age at death.)

• What were the reasons they died?

(Note if the cause of death was unknown.)

• Were there any pregnancy losses or babies born with birth defects?

• Where were our family members born?

(Ethnicity can be a risk factor for some health problems.)

• Did any of our family members smoke? If yes, how much and for how long?

• What other lifestyle habits did our family members have?

(For example: Did they exercise regularly? Were any overweight or extremely thin? Did any have addictive behaviors?)

• What types of allergies did our family members have?

(For example: hay fever, food or medication allergies)

Tags: updates, accent, family, genetics, health, lifestyles