Determinants of familial risk perception of common diseases
Background: Taking a family history is increasingly becoming part of the risk assessment and management of common chronic disease in primary care. Patients’ understanding of their family history may influence perceptions of both their risk of the disease and its management.
Objective: To identify which factors best predict familial risk perception among primary care patients with a family history of one or more common chronic diseases.
Design & Methods: A survey of UK patients identified in general practice, having a family history of either cancer, heart disease or diabetes. The FRisk questionnaire was developed using both established measures and items drawing on our recent qualitative work.
Results: The 754 respondents (response rate 62.0%), were mainly female (61.1%) white British (92.3%), with mean age 48.6 (SD 11.9). Multiple regression analyses revealed that believing that the disease ‘runs in the family’, is a serious condition, and has a genetic cause, were the most significant predictors of familial risk perception. Younger age, being of non-white British ethnic origin, feeling ‘like’ the affected relative, and with vulnerability at a similar age, were also significantly related to higher risk perceptions.
Conclusions: Predictors of familial risk perceptions among a primary care population may differ from the biomedical model of identifying the number of relatives with the disease and age at which they were affected. The findings will inform the development of a family history screening instrument to facilitate both management of familial risk of chronic diseases, and behaviour change to reduce the disease risk.