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 Your Mother’s Health and You

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Author: Mike Thomson

Category: Women’s Health

One of the best ways to decide your risk for disease is to have an open and honest discussion with your mom about her health history and that of other family members. Getting excellent information is the first step in fighting some common women’s health problems that are often inherited.

“You may have inherited a lot of significant features from your mother — perhaps you got her beautiful wavy hair or her high cheekbones. Unfortunately, she may have also passed down a higher risk for the women’s health conditions you’d rather not develop, giving you an increased chance of having breast cancer or osteoporosis. But don’t think you are powerless in the face of your genes. Living healthy and getting proper health screenings can prevent many women’s health problems or detect them early when they’re most treatable.

Like mother, like daughter? That can be great but not for inherited women’s health conditions.

Breast Cancer

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I believe about 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers to be hereditary, resulting from gene mutations passed down by a mother or father., abnormalities in either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are to blame. When BRCA genes act, they keep breast cells growing. When abnormalities exist, cancer can develop. Women who inherit a mutated gene have a much higher ovarian or breast cancer risk.

If your mother had breast cancer, they may worry you, you’ll get it, too. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), having a first-degree relative (mother, sister, or daughter) with the disease doubles a woman’s breast cancer risk. but, it’s important to note that most people who develop breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

Keeping a healthy weight, exercising, and avoiding alcohol “{or drinking only in moderation â€}” up to one drink a day can lower the breast cancer risk for all women. The ACS continues to recommend yearly mammograms beginning at age 40, if you are of average breast cancer risk. If you’re unsure of what to do, speak to your doctor.

If you suspect you carry a mutated gene, speak to a genetic counselor, a medical expert who can look at your family history and help you decide whether to get tested for a gene mutation. If you test positive, there are many treatment options your doctor can discuss with you.

Depression 

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Women are twice as likely to experience depression as men. Hormones, a chemical brain imbalance, stressful life events, and genes all play a part in developing depression. And if Mom struggled with depression, you may be more prone to it as well.

The good news is that medication and counseling can make a big difference, if I catch the depression early. If you have a family history of depression, check your own moods to catch problems and get the help you need.

Heart Disease

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You may think heart disease is a man’s disease, but it’s a genuine threat to women’s health. In fact, heart disease is the number one killer of women and an increased risk, for it can have passed down from your mother or father. High cholesterol, hypertension (high blood pressure), and diabetes have genetic components and are big risk factors for developing heart disease.

You can lower your risk by eating right, exercising, not smoking, and keeping stress in check. Get regular checkups, so that if any of these conditions develop, you can get them under control quickly.

Osteoporosis

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If your mom has been losing height in her later years or has broken a bone after a minor fall, she could have osteoporosis. If she does, “your osteoporosis risk has raised as well — this bone disease runs in families. You can’t change your genes or other risk factors (like being female and getting older), but there are ways you can lower your osteoporosis risk and keep your bones strong, including:

Eating a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D

Exercising

Not smoking

Not drinking to excess

Unfortunately, osteoporosis has called a silent disease because many women don’t learn that they have it until they break a bone. But a bone mineral density test can lead to a diagnosis. All women aged 65 or older have urged to get tested, but speak to your doctor about whether they have this painless test done sooner.

Autoimmune Disorders

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Autoimmune diseases overwhelmingly affect women more than men and run in families. If your mom has rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, or another autoimmune disorder, you are at greater risk of developing any autoimmune disease. Why? Autoimmune disorders are not typical genetic diseases where a single gene mutation is to blame. Instead, many inherited genes work together to increase risk. As a result, autoimmune diseases cluster in families, and not as just one disease. For example, one family member may have multiple sclerosis, another celiac disease, and yet another Crohn’s disease.

Just because your mother has a certain condition doesn’t mean history will repeat itself in you. Your genes make up only a part of your health picture. “Lifestyle is also an enormous piece” and that’s up to you.