What Did Grandpa Give You Besides the Gold Watch? Medical Genetics and Genealogy

A Family Health Portrait Getting Ready to Talk Make a list of blood relatives Prepare your questions Chronic illnesses Other serious illnesses – don’t forget mental illnesses Causes of death Find a good time to talk At family events Via phone calls or e-mail

Health Portrait - Part 2 During Your Talks Explain to your relative why you are doing this Keep a record Ask one question at a time Respect your relatives’ feelings

Health Portrait – Part 3 After Your Talks Take one step at a time Don’t panic about discoveries Continue the creation of the portrait Filling in the gaps Try asking other relatives Request medical or vital records Keep your family’s health history up-to-date

Create a Family Health History Begin with a tool from the U.S. Surgeon General https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/FHH/html/index.html Enter your family health history Learn about risks for conditions Save, share, and print your family health history Link to the actual database entry screens https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/FHH/html/fhh.html?action=create

Karen’s medical ancestry chart other – cancer, depression Paul other – heart, arthritis William death - cancer John death - heart Anna Helen death – heart other – cancer, arthritis Hipolit death – heart other - arthritis Agnes Joyce Robert death - heart other - cancer, depression Lewellyn other - depression Alvira Ruby other - dementia Ralph Edith other - dementia

Public Health Genomics – Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/default.htm Weekly Update Genomic Testing Family Health History Reports and Publications Podcasts and Videocasts

Research the Common Illnesses/Diseases Don’t stop with the “big” ones like cancer or heart disease. Look for others like high blood pressure, diabetes, hemophilia, or arthritis. Determine the normal age of appearance Consider that it could vary by sex Do you need to be looking earlier? Check for gender specific conditions on the “other” side of the family Reach out to national support organizations for literature and support

Don’t Panic! Early knowledge of family trends can allow for better testing at an earlier age. Many conditions now have better medical treatments that can be started at a younger age. Early action will allow even terminal illnesses to be treated for a longer and better quality of life.

Share what you have found Don’t keep patterns or genetic results a secret. Let people know that future generations need to watch for specific symptoms. Branch out beyond just Mom and Dad and sisters and brothers. Aunts, uncles, and cousins are in the same genetic family. If you love your family, share the knowledge and let everyone spend many more healthy, happy years together!

Karen Russ, MLS Research & Community Engagement Librarian/Associate Professor Ottenheimer Library/Collections & Archives University of Arkansas at Little Rock kmruss@ualr.edu