CDC set to harness the predictive power of a medical family tree

The initiative would provide a standardized, computerized tool aimed at improving the value of family history in preventive medicine.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Nov. 10, 2003.

Washington -- The fact that a patient's father died at 55 of a heart attack could make the 50-year-old patient more receptive to his physician's oft-repeated recommendations to exercise more, shed those extra pounds and get his cholesterol checked.

Since family history is a known risk factor for coronary heart disease, as well as several other chronic diseases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a Family History Public Health Initiative that is intended to make the best possible use of such medical knowledge in determining a patient's risk level.

The CDC's Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention began thinking about what kind of genomic tools were ready for everyday use in doctors' offices about two years ago. As gene exploration continues, many potential medicine-shaping tools are still in the development stage. But not family history -- it's ready for prime time.

"We thought, family history really is a genomic tool in many senses, and it has been used in medical care for many years," said Paula Yoon, ScD, MPH, a CDC epidemiologist working on the initiative. "But taking a hard look at our medical system today, we realized that family history is underutilized in preventive medicine." Although most physicians collect data on a patient's family history of disease, it tends not to be standardized and is difficult for physicians to take advantage of, she added.

The information now collected may also lack some vital components, such as the age at which a relative developed a particular disease, whether it was a mother or a father and the diseases of siblings.