title: Family history and perceived risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression.
abstract: Family history is a useful and inexpensive tool to assess risks of multifactorial diseases. Family history enables individualized disease prevention, but its effects on perceived risks of various diseases need to be understood in more detail. We examined how family history relates to perceived risk of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and depression, and whether these associations are independent of or moderated by sociodemographic factors, health behavior/weight status (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, BMI [kg/m(2)]), or depressive symptoms.
  
  
  
  Participants were Finnish 25-74-year-olds (N=6258) from a population-based FINRISK 2007 study. Perceived absolute lifetime risks (Brewer et al., 2004; Becker, 1974; Weinstein and Nicolich, 1993; Guttmacher et al., 2004; Yoon et al., 2002) and first-degree family history of CVD, diabetes, cancer and depression, and health behaviors were self-reported. Weight and height were measured in a health examination.
  
  
  
  Family history was most prevalent for cancer (36.7%), least for depression (19.6%). Perceived risk mean was highest for CVD (2.8), lowest for depression (2.0). Association between family history and perceived risk was strongest for diabetes (β=0.34, P<0.001), weakest for depression (β=0.19, P<0.001). Adjusting for sociodemographics, health behavior, and depressive symptoms did not change these associations. The association between family history and perceived risk tended to be stronger among younger than among older adults, but similar regardless of health behaviors or depressive symptoms.
  
  
  
  Association between family history and perceived risk varies across diseases. People's current understandings on heritability need to be acknowledged in risk communication practices. Future research should seek to identify effective strategies to combine familial and genetic risk communication in disease prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 37, P.O. Box 54, 00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: marleena.vornanen@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Marleena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vornanen
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 37, P.O. Box 54, 00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: hanna.konttinen@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Konttinen
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, P.O. Box 30, 00271 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: helena.kaariainen@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kääriäinen
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, P.O. Box 30, 00271 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: satu.mannisto@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Satu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Männistö
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, P.O. Box 30, 00271 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: veikko.salomaa@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Veikko
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Salomaa
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, P.O. Box 30, 00271 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: markus.perola@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perola
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 37, P.O. Box 54, 00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: ari.haukkala@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Ari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haukkala
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000523:psychology; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Cancer; Cardiovascular disease; Depression; Diabetes; Family history; Perceived risk