Persons who have close relatives with certain diseases (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis) are more likely to develop those diseases themselves (i). Family health history is an important risk factor that reflects inherited genetic susceptibility, shared environment, and common behaviors. Although clinicians are trained to collect family histories, substantial barriers exist to obtaining this information in primary care practice (e.g., lack of time or lack of reimbursement) (2). To promote the use of family history as a screening tool for disease prevention and health promotion, several initiatives have called for new self-administered family history collection tools and educational programs to help clinicians interpret and apply family history information to patient care (3,4). To assess attitudes, knowledge, and practices of U.S. residents regarding their family health histories, CDC analyzed data from the 2004 HealthStyles Survey. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that although 96.3% of survey respondents believe their family history is important for their own health, few have actively collected health information from their relatives to develop a family history. Targeted public health efforts are needed to 1) help persons collect family history information to share with their health-care providers and 2) educate and assist providers to interpret and apply this information effectively.

HealthStyles is an annual mail survey of the U.S. population aged [greater than or equal to] 18 years that examines health-related attitudes and behaviors (5). The survey is designed and conducted by Porter Novelli (Washington, DC), with technical assistance from health organizations, including CDC. In July and August 2004, a stratified random sample of 6,175 respondents was selected from approximately 600,000 households previously recruited to participate in a consumer marketing survey. In return for their participation, respondents were given small gifts (e.g., a 20-minute calling card) and entered into a sweepstakes drawing. Of the 6,175 households contacted by mail, 4,345 (70.4%) returned the survey. Survey data were weighted to match the 2003 Current Population Survey estimates relative to age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, and household size.