Half of parents worry about their child developing hereditary conditions

Key takeaways:

• One in five respondents said their child has been diagnosed with a condition that runs in the family.
• One-quarter of parents felt like they could prevent their child from developing hereditary conditions.

Nearly half of parents are worried about their child developing a hereditary health condition, according to results from the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll of Children’s Health.

“This report reflects the need for parents to be equipped with accurate information about their family health history,” Mott Poll codirector Sarah J. Clark, MPH, said in a press release. “Parents play a key role in understanding and addressing their child’s health concerns, including those related to hereditary conditions.”

The researchers collected poll responses from 2,057 adults with at least one child aged 1 to 18 years in their household in February 2024.

Almost half of respondents (48%) were concerned about their child developing a condition that runs in their family, and 21% have a child who has been diagnosed with a hereditary condition.

Some conditions parents thought their children were at higher risk for due to family history were:

• allergies (41%);
• mental health conditions (33%);
• ADHD (23%);
• obesity (22%);
• heart disease (20%);
• cancer (20%);
• alcoholism (18%);
• autoimmune conditions (13%);
• autism (6%); and
• other chronic conditions (29%).

Some parents (25%) believed they could prevent their child from developing a hereditary condition, and many encouraged their children to eat healthy foods (51%) and get enough exercise (48%). Forty-two percent of respondents said they are watching for signs of conditions in their children; 26% asked their child’s health care provider to examine their child for family health conditions; and 7% looked into genetic testing.

More parents felt knowledgeable about their family medical history than mental health history (63% vs. 57%), and they were more likely to discuss their family’s medical history with their child than their family’s mental health history (65% vs. 49%).

Most respondents said their child’s health care provider asked about their family’s medical history in registration paperwork (59%) or during a health care visit (65%), but 12% said their child’s provider did not ask, and 15% feel like the provider does not know enough about their child’s family history.

“Having a hereditary predisposition to an illness may prompt parents to be more careful with certain choices,” Clark said in the release. “A child’s pediatrician can be a resource to help optimize their health and avoid some of the illnesses experienced by their family members.”

References:

• 2 in 3 parents want help preventing their child from developing hereditary health conditions. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1055069. Published Aug. 26, 2024. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024.
• Mott Poll Report. Using family health history to improve child health. https://mottpoll.org/reports/using-family-health-history-improve-child-health. Published Aug. 26, 2024. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024.