Which health history component helps identify familial patterns of disease?

• A. Family medical history
• B. Nutritional assessment
• C. Past medical history
• D. Review of systems

Answer: (A)

Understanding familial disease patterns comes from looking at relatives’ health information. The family medical history collects details about parents, siblings, grandparents, and others to see what diseases run in the family, ages at onset, and potential inheritance patterns. This helps identify inherited risks, guide screening recommendations, and inform preventive counseling for the patient and their family.

Nutritional assessment focuses on the patient’s diet and nutrition status, not family disease patterns. Past medical history records the patient’s own previous illnesses, not how conditions occur in the family. Review of systems gathers information about the patient’s current symptoms across body systems, again not the family’s health history.