Genetic Research Findings and Family Health

Recent advances in genetic research have emphasized that each individual should be considered in the context of the family, as biological family members have many genes in common. At least 50% of our genes are shared between first-degree relatives. In addition, family members share common environments and cultures. Genetic and genomic information has taken on new importance as health care providers have embraced genomic and personalized health care for individuals and families. Genomic health care is the use of information from genomes and their derivatives (RNA, proteins, and metabolites) to guide health care decision making and is a key component of personalized health care. For providers, this means the ability to determine the risk of disease related to genetic factors, new approaches to disease prevention ...