DNA Direct: Your Genes in Context

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ADOPTION

Adoptee Information

If you are adopted, you may have limited or no information about your biological relatives. This may leave you with questions like what health conditions you might be predisposed to, what countries your ancestors came from, and where you got those unique characteristics? Genetic testing is just beginning to help us answer some of these questions.

Family Medical History

Why Family History Matters

Almost everyone is asked about the health of their biological family members when they go to the doctor. This is because our family medical history can provide important clues about the health conditions that we might also get. For now, family history is actually a better predictor than genetic testing for most health conditions — common and rare.

What You Can Do

If you are adopted and interested in learning more about your medical history, you might start by reviewing all of Your Adoption Records.
There is no genetic test that can tell us about all of the health conditions that we have an increased risk of getting, or passing on to our children, because of our genes.
- There are some conditions that are common enough that genetic testing makes sense to offer to everyone — regardless of the family history. Carrier screening for cystic fibrosis is an example of a test for a genetic condition that is offered to every pregnant woman.
- As we start to understand more about how genes influence common diseases, more tests like the one for Diabetes Risk will undoubtedly become available.

Ancestry

Why Ancestry Matters for Medical Reasons

Like family medical history, where our ancestors came from also gives some important clues about the health conditions that might affect us or our children. For instance, some genetic conditions are found most commonly in people who have Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry while other conditions, like hemochromatosis, are much more common in people with Celtic backgrounds. Almost every common disease, from cancer to high blood pressure, happens at different rates in different groups of people. Knowing where your ancestors came from can help your doctor identify conditions that you might be at particularly high risk for.

What You Can Do

There are a variety of different tests that use DNA to help uncover clues about where our ancestors originated.

Searching For Biological Relatives

What You Can Do

If you are thinking about searching for your biological relatives, you may find these informational materials helpful: Should You Search for Your Birth Parents? and Searching: How Is It Done?.
If you have connected with someone you think is a biological relative, DNA testing can usually confirm this through relationship testing.

Next Article: What Does Your Physician Need to Know? Adoption