One in seven people have never spoken to their relatives about their family’s health history, according to a recent global study from Bupa, a health insurance company. The survey polled 8,000 adults and 169 health professionals from the UK, Australia, Spain and more.
Of the respondents, 30% said having a conversation about family health history had never crossed their minds and 20% said their families don’t talk about health openly.
“Even though it’s one in seven people, that person is connected to a family who hasn’t had those conversations. So in some ways, it’s kind of like one in seven families,” says Sherry Pagoto, a licensed clinical psychologist who was involved in the study.
About four in five (79%) of healthcare professionals polled agree that “more lives could be saved if patients had better knowledge of their family health history,” according to the study.
With the knowledge of genetic health risks, doctors can make informed decisions like screening patients for specific conditions that run in their family, Pagoto says. But patients may not understand the importance of having those conversations or they may be uncomfortable to learn about their health histories, she adds.
