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Century Club
Do women inherit their mother's health? From breast cancer to obesity, how your genes count more than your lifestyle
By Peta Bee
Daily Mail ~ 26th April 2011
Researchers recently discovered that the age at which a girl starts having periods is mainly influenced by when her mother started menstruating.
Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research at the University of London discovered there was a 57 per cent likelihood a girl would begin menstruating within three months of the date her mother started. It had been thought that diet, particularly eating a lot of meat, played a greater role than genes.
Scientists found there was a 57 per cent likelihood a girl would begin menstruating within three months of the date her mother started
So what other aspects of a girl’s health are controlled by genetics?
Could determining a woman’s health prospects be as simple as checking her mother’s medical records?
We asked leading experts how likely you are to inherit your mother’s body, mind and health...
MIGRAINES
GENETIC LINK: 70 to 80 per cent risk you’ll inherit them from your mother, says Dr Kate Henry, associate professor of neurology at New York University.
WHAT'S PASSED ON? Researchers recently discovered a flawed gene, called tresk, could cause migraines. If this gene doesn’t work properly, environmental factors (such as noise, cheese and caffeine) can more easily trigger pain centres in the brain that cause migraines. When the defective gene in migraine patients was under-active it caused a severe headache.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? ‘Triggers can be unpredictable, but identifying them will help to control your condition,’ says Demelza Burn of Migraine Action.
Many migraine sufferers are sensitive to foods such as chocolate, coffee, cheese, citrus and red wine. Hormones can also play a role - the rise and fall of oestrogen and progesterone during the menstrual cycle can cause migraines.
BREAST CANCER
A woman has a mammogram to check the breasts for cancer. Women with two certain genes are more likely to develop the disease
GENETIC LINK: 3 per cent of UK breast cancer cases are inherited.
WHAT'S PASSED ON? ‘Women who are carriers of the mutated gene BRCA1 or BRCA2 are more likely to inherit the condition,’ says Jackie Harris, a clinical nurse specialist for Breast Cancer Care. ‘If a blood relative — male or female — had breast cancer at an early age, you are more at risk.’
Most women with these mutated genes will develop cancer at a very young age, says Dr Elizabeth Rapley, a cancer geneticist from the Institute of Cancer Research.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Genetic screening is offered to women with a family history of breast cancer (where one or more close blood relatives have had the disease). If you carry the gene, you can be closely monitored.
Some women opt for early mastectomies to reduce their chances of developing cancer.
Hormone replacement therapies and taking the combined contraceptive pill can increase the risk in some women, as can being obese, particularly after the menopause, says Jackie Harris.
Women who drink and smoke excessively also face increased risks. According to Cancer Research UK, smoking is responsible for more than a quarter of all cancer deaths in Britain, while even moderate drinking has been shown to raise the risk of breast cancer by 7 per cent for each single unit of alcohol per day, the charity reports.
DEPRESSION
GENETIC LINK: 10 per cent risk you’ll inherit it, several studies have found — including one by the US National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health.
WHAT'S PASSED ON? Mental illness — including depression, post-natal depression and bipolar disorder — is known to run in families.
Scientists have isolated a mutant gene, called tryptophan hydroxylase-2, which might play a role in depressive illnesses. It starves the brain of serotonin, the feel-good hormone that regulates moods using chemical messages. A direct genetic link has yet to be proven.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Factors such as fatigue, stress and alcohol intake can increase the risk of developing depression, says Emer O’Neill, chief executive of the charity Depression Alliance. If you do inherit one of the genes linked to depression, there’s no guarantee you will suffer from the illness, O’Neill adds.
OBESITY
Only 4 per cent of girls with normal-weight mothers were obese, compared to 41 per cent with fat mothers
GENETIC LINK: A UK study found people with two copies of a fat version of the gene FTO had a 70 per cent higher risk of obesity than those with no copies.
Another study found only 4 per cent of girls with normal-weight mothers were obese, compared to 41 per cent with fat mothers.
WHAT'S PASSED ON? People carrying one copy of the fat FTO variant had a 30 per cent increased risk of being obese compared to a person with no copies.
Those carrying two copies of the variant were on average 3kg (6.6lb) heavier than a similar person with no gene copies.
Other studies, including one published in the International Journal Of Obesity in 2009, suggest a strong link between mother and daughter and father and son obesity — but no link across the gender divide.
Genetics affect body shape too.
‘Apple shapes have a stronger genetic link than pear-shaped or thin ones,’ says Louise Sutton.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Calorie and fat-laden diets are partly to blame for rising rates of obesity in children, but so are increased levels of inactivity.
TV and computer time should be rationed to less than two hours a day, recommends Sutton.
Additional reporting by Anna Dunlop.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1380567/Do-women-inherit-mothers-health-From-breast-cancer-obesity-genes-count-lifestyle.html#ixzz1KeN8lwcd
By Peta Bee
Daily Mail ~ 26th April 2011
Researchers recently discovered that the age at which a girl starts having periods is mainly influenced by when her mother started menstruating.
Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research at the University of London discovered there was a 57 per cent likelihood a girl would begin menstruating within three months of the date her mother started. It had been thought that diet, particularly eating a lot of meat, played a greater role than genes.
Scientists found there was a 57 per cent likelihood a girl would begin menstruating within three months of the date her mother started
So what other aspects of a girl’s health are controlled by genetics?
Could determining a woman’s health prospects be as simple as checking her mother’s medical records?
We asked leading experts how likely you are to inherit your mother’s body, mind and health...
MIGRAINES
GENETIC LINK: 70 to 80 per cent risk you’ll inherit them from your mother, says Dr Kate Henry, associate professor of neurology at New York University.
WHAT'S PASSED ON? Researchers recently discovered a flawed gene, called tresk, could cause migraines. If this gene doesn’t work properly, environmental factors (such as noise, cheese and caffeine) can more easily trigger pain centres in the brain that cause migraines. When the defective gene in migraine patients was under-active it caused a severe headache.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? ‘Triggers can be unpredictable, but identifying them will help to control your condition,’ says Demelza Burn of Migraine Action.
Many migraine sufferers are sensitive to foods such as chocolate, coffee, cheese, citrus and red wine. Hormones can also play a role - the rise and fall of oestrogen and progesterone during the menstrual cycle can cause migraines.
BREAST CANCER
A woman has a mammogram to check the breasts for cancer. Women with two certain genes are more likely to develop the disease
GENETIC LINK: 3 per cent of UK breast cancer cases are inherited.
WHAT'S PASSED ON? ‘Women who are carriers of the mutated gene BRCA1 or BRCA2 are more likely to inherit the condition,’ says Jackie Harris, a clinical nurse specialist for Breast Cancer Care. ‘If a blood relative — male or female — had breast cancer at an early age, you are more at risk.’
Most women with these mutated genes will develop cancer at a very young age, says Dr Elizabeth Rapley, a cancer geneticist from the Institute of Cancer Research.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Genetic screening is offered to women with a family history of breast cancer (where one or more close blood relatives have had the disease). If you carry the gene, you can be closely monitored.
Some women opt for early mastectomies to reduce their chances of developing cancer.
Hormone replacement therapies and taking the combined contraceptive pill can increase the risk in some women, as can being obese, particularly after the menopause, says Jackie Harris.
Women who drink and smoke excessively also face increased risks. According to Cancer Research UK, smoking is responsible for more than a quarter of all cancer deaths in Britain, while even moderate drinking has been shown to raise the risk of breast cancer by 7 per cent for each single unit of alcohol per day, the charity reports.
DEPRESSION
GENETIC LINK: 10 per cent risk you’ll inherit it, several studies have found — including one by the US National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health.
WHAT'S PASSED ON? Mental illness — including depression, post-natal depression and bipolar disorder — is known to run in families.
Scientists have isolated a mutant gene, called tryptophan hydroxylase-2, which might play a role in depressive illnesses. It starves the brain of serotonin, the feel-good hormone that regulates moods using chemical messages. A direct genetic link has yet to be proven.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Factors such as fatigue, stress and alcohol intake can increase the risk of developing depression, says Emer O’Neill, chief executive of the charity Depression Alliance. If you do inherit one of the genes linked to depression, there’s no guarantee you will suffer from the illness, O’Neill adds.
OBESITY
Only 4 per cent of girls with normal-weight mothers were obese, compared to 41 per cent with fat mothers
GENETIC LINK: A UK study found people with two copies of a fat version of the gene FTO had a 70 per cent higher risk of obesity than those with no copies.
Another study found only 4 per cent of girls with normal-weight mothers were obese, compared to 41 per cent with fat mothers.
WHAT'S PASSED ON? People carrying one copy of the fat FTO variant had a 30 per cent increased risk of being obese compared to a person with no copies.
Those carrying two copies of the variant were on average 3kg (6.6lb) heavier than a similar person with no gene copies.
Other studies, including one published in the International Journal Of Obesity in 2009, suggest a strong link between mother and daughter and father and son obesity — but no link across the gender divide.
Genetics affect body shape too.
‘Apple shapes have a stronger genetic link than pear-shaped or thin ones,’ says Louise Sutton.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Calorie and fat-laden diets are partly to blame for rising rates of obesity in children, but so are increased levels of inactivity.
TV and computer time should be rationed to less than two hours a day, recommends Sutton.
Additional reporting by Anna Dunlop.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1380567/Do-women-inherit-mothers-health-From-breast-cancer-obesity-genes-count-lifestyle.html#ixzz1KeN8lwcd
