Category: family history

Happy Thanksgiving 2018: Protect your family’s health by using My Family Health Portrait to collect and share your family health history

a multigenerational familly eating a thanksgiving meal and a picture of DNA is hanging on the wall

Happy Thanksgiving Day! It is time to send our yearly message on the importance of family health history to your own health. Every year we emphasize a slightly different version of this message. In 2017, we highlighted the simple fact that even in the age of genomics and precision medicine, family health history remains as Read More >

Posted on by Muin J Khoury, Director, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLeave a commentTags

National Family History Day 2015: Thinking globally and acting locally

Multi Generation Family Celebrating Thanksgiving

Though you probably will not find greeting cards in stores celebrating this fact, Thanksgiving has been known as National Family History Day in the U.S. since 2004.  The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and many federal, state and private partners have marked each year with events and announcements promoting the collection and use of family Read More >

Posted on by W. Gregory Feero, MD, PhD, Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine ResidencyLeave a commentTags , ,

Family health history is a non-modifiable risk factor—or is it?

a family biking

“I met three different women who had been tested [genetic testing for mutations in the BReast CAncer susceptibility (BRCA) genes] early on, in 1996, when the BRCA test first came out. They told me their family history story of mothers, aunts, uncles, and a dad who suffered from breast or ovarian or related cancers, and Read More >

Posted on by Ridgely Fisk Green,Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers For Disease Control and PreventionLeave a commentTags , ,

Suicide, Family History, and Genomics

Robin Williams speaks to troups

We must continue to search for new methods to effectively address the tremendous problem of suicide. Despite recent interest, genomics does not provide the solution today, but there is a lot that we can do now using an established public health approach to prevention.   Millions were shocked by the news that comedian Robin Williams Read More >

Posted on by Scott Bowen, OPHG and Brad Bartholow with National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC StaffLeave a commentTags , ,

Evidence Matters in Genomic Medicine—Round 3: Integrating Family Health History into Clinical Preventive Services

stacked boxes with pedigree

A new podcast from the CDC Expert Commentary Series on Medscape—Family Health History: Use It to Inform Preventive Services for Your Patients— describes how family health history can inform the delivery of preventive health services.   The podcast presents three case studies based on recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF):  screening for lipid Read More >

Posted on by Katherine Kolor and Muin J Khoury, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLeave a commentTags , , , ,

Sharing the Burden of Obesity

world globe balanced on top of a scale including a DNA strand as the equator

  On May 7-9, the CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, hosted a conference on Weight of the Nation™ in Washington, D.C.  The conference served to highlight progress in the prevention and control of obesity through policy and environmental strategies. The­ Weight of the Nation is also the title of an HBO Documentary Read More >

Posted on by Marta Gwinn, Consultant, McKing Consulting Corp, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention1 CommentTags , , , ,

Making Universal Screening for Lynch Syndrome a Reality: The Lynch Syndrome Screening Network

flow chart individual

Every day, about 400 people in the United States are diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Approximately twelve of them have Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that increases the risk of colorectal cancer and other cancers.  Identifying people with Lynch syndrome could have substantial health benefits for them, their families, and communities.   Read More >

Posted on by Deb Duquette, MS, CGC & Sarah Mange, MPH- Michigan Department of Community Health; Cecelia Bellcross, PhD, MS- Emory University; Heather Hampel, MS, CGC- The Ohio State University; Kory Jasperson, MS, CGC- Huntsman Cancer Institute (Authors are all from the Lynch Syndrome Screening Network (LSSN) Founding Board of Directors)1 CommentTags , , , , ,

Emerging Evidence for the Benefits of Systematic Collection of Family History in Primary Care

a family

When it comes to the use of genomic tests and technologies in practice, Dr Al Berg is a skeptic. Dr Berg is the founding chair of the CDC-sponsored Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention (EGAPP) Working Group that has been evaluating genomic tests for more than 5 years. He also chaired the National Institutes Read More >

Posted on by Muin J Khoury, Director, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention3 CommentsTags , , ,

A Million Hearts, A Thousand Genes, and Your Family History

Million Hearts

In September 2011, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced a new initiative  to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in the United States in the next 5 years. This campaign will implement proven, effective, and inexpensive interventions in both clinical and community settings. In clinical practice, it will improve management of Read More >

Posted on by Muin J Khoury, Director, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention3 CommentsTags , , , , ,

Think (Again) Before You Spit: Readers Weigh In

woman looking at test tube thinking (text: Think (Again) Before You Spit

We thank our readers for their thoughtful comments on our recent post, which discussed the validity and utility of personal genomic tests for improving health. Clearly, this topic engenders a range of reactions as reflected in a recent scientific discussion. Several people I know have sought testing for various reasons, including curiosity, genealogic research, or just Read More >

Posted on by Muin J Khoury, Director, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention1 CommentTags , , ,