Table 1.

Relationship between family history and health-related behavior change, exclusive of perceived risk

Study	Relationship	Results
Tamragouri et al.15	None/Negative	Students with a FH were less likely to exercise and were more likely to feel overweight compared to students without a FH.
Kip et al.16	None	No change in weight, physical activity, LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides, SBP, DBP, or likelihood to quit smoking between young adults with FH of heart attack or stoke in the last five years versus those without an event during the same time period.
Kelley et al.17	None/Negative	No differences between intake of macronutrients, fiber, cholesterol, or percentage of calories as fat in children at high risk versus children at low risk based on FH. Mean non-fasting cholesterol was significantly greater in the at-risk group compared to the non-at-risk group.
McCusker et al.18	Mixed	No differences between the average risk group and the combined moderate/high risk group in cutting back on high-fat foods, increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, increasing physical activity, or trying to stop smoking (among smokers only). The two groups did differ by serum cholesterol screening and aspirin use.
Thanavaro et al.19	Positive	Backward multiple regression analysis showed that FH was a positive predictor of health-promoting behavior in women without current CHD.
Andersson et al.20	None/Negative	FH did not result is less smoking or increased physical exercise compared to those without a FH. Individuals with a FH were more obese compared to those without a FH.
Slattery et al.21	None/Negative	Individuals with a FH of heart attack or stroke had higher BMI, less physical activity, and higher total serum cholesterol compared to those without a FH.

Abbreviations: DBP, diastolic blood pressure; BMI, body mass index, FH, family history; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; SBP, systolic blood pressure