A comparison of positive family history definitions for defining risk of future disease

Accuracy of Family History of Hemochromatosis or Iron Overload: The Hemochromatosis and Iron Overload Screening Study

“…Although the specificity for liver disease was the highest, only 2 participants reported having liver disease. The sensitivities for diabetes (57.86%) and heart disease (37.35%) were less, but the specificities were similar to those of a study of coronary heart disease, 24 and studies of coronary heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. 25,26 Public knowledge of H/IO in North America may be low, as it is in other countries.…”

“…[24][25][26] The risk of having H/IO was associated significantly with a positive family history for H/IO. Moreover, all probands and their siblings reporting H/IO were C282Y homozygotes.…”

A positive parental history of high blood pressure

“…This could reflect, as the authors discuss, an accumulative or amplifying effect of environmental factors on a genetic predisposition with time. However, the finding is somewhat at variance with the Utah data 3 showing a reduced effect of parental history on the risk of hypertension in older age groups. Further studies are required to look at this.…”

“…First, studies have looked at the effect of a family history on the risk of developing hypertension. [1][2][3] The most comprehensive analysis has been done by Hunt and colleagues in Utah. In a prospective study of 1482 adults, a positive family history (two first-degree relatives with hypertension) was associated with a 2.35-fold unadjusted and a 1.82-fold adjusted risk of hypertension.…”

“…First, the predictive power of a positive family history is low. 3,5,10 The correlate of this is that many 'normotensive' parents will pass inherited factors predisposing their children to hypertension although they themselves do not manifest the condition. Thus many subjects in such studies will be mis-grouped in terms of their own risk of hypertension.…”