尋根究底 了解你的家族病史
在尋找你的家族病史時，應注意以下各點：
• 在適當的時候作出適當的提問：並非人人都想談及自己的健康，你要選擇一個合適的時間與你的家人傾談，並且向他們保證只有你、你的醫生和家人才知悉。
• 解釋為何你要知道家人的病歷，以及分享這些健康資料對你和你的家人掌握自己的健康有多重要。
• 盡可能詢問所有親人，包括你的父母、祖父母、兄弟姊妹、父母的兄弟姊妹、姪甥、堂／表兄姊妹以及你的子女，這樣也可讓他們更關注自己的健康。
• 至於一些特殊的健康狀況，應先了解家人首次發現症狀的年齡，以及何時確診。如果家人過早罹患疾病，其他家庭成員也有可能存在此疾病的基因而患病。
• 如果你未能聯絡家人，也要告知醫生。即使沒有完整的家族病史也不要擔心，隨著你的家庭不斷擴大，你或會發現更多家族病史的細節
如你對自己的家族病史有任何疑問，請諮詢醫生。
如何使用你的家族病史？
知道親人的病史可讓專家找出影響你現在或將來健康的風險因素。
例如，心臟病的風險因素包括高血壓和高膽固醇，這些都是受基因和環境因素如生活模式、年齡和性別等影響。如果測試發現你存在這些風險因素，你就會被問及你的生活習慣如飲食、運動、吸煙和壓力等。當然，健康的生活模式並不能摒除基因的風險，但總可以減低你患病的危機。
你也可能需要進行多項測試，包括特殊的檢測、診斷檢查或更頻密的身體檢查，這有助及早發現和治療疾病，也可延緩出現慢性疾病的機會，讓你保持健康。
儘管你的家族病史存在某種疾病或狀況，你也不一定會患上該疾病。同樣地，即使你沒有家族病史，也可能會患上某些疾病。因此，奉行健康的生活模式，以及在需要時進行檢測才是關鍵。
Family history: why knowing family health history is important
Finding out your family history of health issues
As you set out to find out about your family health history:
• Be sensitive. Not everyone may want to talk about their health. Choose an appropriate time to speak with your blood-related family members. And assure them that the information is for you, your doctor and family members only.
• Explain why you’re trying to find out about your family’s health. Talk about how sharing health information could influence how you and your family manage their health.
• Try to include as many people as possible. From your parents and grandparents to siblings, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins and your own children, talking to family members may encourage them to learn more about their own health.
• For specific health conditions, find out the age that your family member first noticed symptoms and when they received a diagnosis. If a condition started earlier than usual, your family members may have a genetic susceptibility to that condition.
• If you can’t contact family members, let your doctor know. Don’t worry if you don’t have the full story. Just as your family is continually changing, so is your family history.
If you do find out anything about your family history that concerns you, see your doctor.
How can your family health history be used?
By knowing the health history of your blood relatives, specialists may be able to identify some risk factors that could affect your current or future health.
For example, some of the risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Both these risk factors are influenced by genetic and environmental factors such as lifestyle, age and gender. If tests show that you have these risk factors, you’ll be asked about your personal lifestyle habits – such as diet, exercise, smoking and stress. While a healthy lifestyle won’t erase a genetic risk, making simple changes to your habits is likely to help reduce your risk.
You may also be asked to have more tests, including special screening tests, diagnostic tests or more frequent check-ups. This could help find and manage health problems early and delay the onset of chronic conditions, increasing your chances of good health.
Even if your family history suggests links with a disease or condition, you won’t necessarily develop it. Likewise, it’s possible to develop a disease or condition even without a family history of it. So focus on living a healthy life, and get the screening tests you need when recommended.