Assess Your Risk of Inheriting a Disease

ByABC News via logo
March 1, 2006, 1:20 PM

March 2, 2006 — -- To assess your risk of inheriting a relative's condition, print and take the quiz below from "You: The Smart Patient" by Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen.

Yes or No: Is this an immediate, full-blood relative? Circle yes if it is your mother or father or a sibling. (If a stepsibling, circle no.)

Yes or No: Did this relative get the disease with a suspected genetic link before age 65?

Yes or No: Did this relative die from this disease before age 65?

Yes or No: Was this disease likely caused by a genetic link, and not caused by environmental or lifestyle factors? (If the relative was a heavy smoker, a heavy drinker, or had a toxic or hazardous exposure at work, and these likely caused or contributed to the disease, circle no.)

Yes or No: Is there at least one other blood relative who also has or had any of these same diseases?

Yes or No: Do you look like this relative, either inside or out? Meaning, do you have the same body type, same cholesterol problem, same bad temper, etc.?

Assessment:

If you circled yes once or twice, you may be at risk for inheriting this condition, so monitor it with your doctor. You circled three or more yeses? You're likely at very high risk of inheriting the disease, so keep a watchful eye on it.

Hopefully, you won't have to interrogate more than a handful of relatives in the above manner. If you hail from a litter of 14 and have more aunts than a cartoon picnic, just remember to keep your radar sharp for two factors: serious illness or death before age 65, and potentially fatal conditions.

Either can be more important than how close you and your relative are in the bloodline. For example, your uncle's pancreatic cancer at age 53 would likely be more alarming to us than your mother's heart fibrillations at age 70. At a bare minimum, you need to know why your parents and grandparents died, if they're now gone. And your bottom-line question to your doctor is always the same: If there's a genetic link associated with this condition, how can I prevent it?