There are a lot of factors that can influence your health, including your diet and exercise habits. But your genetics and family upbringing also have a big impact on how healthy you are.
Now, a new study has found that something as simple as whether your grandparents went to college can influence your health. “Health is transmitted across generations,” lead study author Agus Surachman, assistant professor in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, tells Yahoo Life.
The findings raise a lot of questions about the link between your grandparents’ education and biological age, as well as the other ways in which your family tree can play a role in your personal health. From cancer risks to hairlines, here’s what doctors say grandparents may influence.
Education and aging
That’s the major takeaway from a study Surachman conducted that was published in the journal Social Science & Medicine. For the study, researchers analyzed three generations’ worth of data in the NHLBI Growth and Health Study, looking at the education of parents and grandparents, along with health data from parents and their kids.
Surachman and his team discovered that grandchildren of grandparents with a college education had slower biological aging — a measure of how old your cells are — compared to grandchildren of grandparents who didn’t graduate from college. (Biological aging was measured using a saliva swab to measure DNA methylation, which changes as you get older.)
Surachman says there can be a few reasons for this. “We know that socioeconomic advantages beget more advantages,” he says. “Having grandparents with a college education means that your own parents have a higher chance of a college education as well, which means better income and more wealth.” That can cause people to be raised with access to healthier nutrition, more stable housing and better health care, among other things — all of which can factor into how healthy someone ends up being, Surachman says. But Surachman adds that more research is needed to parse all of this out. “There are numerous other factors that we still haven’t uncovered yet that may explain this association,” he says.
Cancer risk
Having grandparents who’ve had certain types of cancer can influence your own risk of developing the disease, Carolyn Haskins, licensed genetic counselor at Moffitt Cancer Center, tells Yahoo Life.
“It is important to know what health conditions you may be at risk for, and one way to gain insight into issues you could have an increased familial risk for is through family history,” she says. “People typically think of their family as their nuclear family, which includes first-degree relatives like parents, siblings and children. However, family history extends beyond just first-degree relatives, and often we learn more about our families through older generations, like our grandparents.”
If you have a family history of cancer, Haskins says, it’s important to flag it to a doctor. “If your doctor knows your family history of cancer, they can work on a plan for increased screening if needed,” she says. For example, public health officials recommend that people with a family history of colon cancer start colonoscopy screenings at an earlier age than the general public. People who have grandparents or other relatives with a known BRCA mutation may also need to see a genetic counselor for a risk assessment and to possibly have screenings.
Ultimately, Haskins says, it’s important to share your family history of cancer with a medical provider and to follow their advice on next steps from there.
Hairline
Your grandparents can influence whether you experience hair loss in a few ways, Dr. Ife J. Rodney, a dermatologist and founding director of Eternal Dermatology + Aesthetics, tells Yahoo Life. “Sometimes, you may be genetically predisposed to hair loss,” she says. Androgenetic alopecia, aka male or female pattern hair loss, tends to run in families, Rodney points out.
But grandparents can also influence your hair loss risk through hairstyles that may raise the odds you’ll stress your hair follicles and strands. “Certain hairstyles are cultural and the way your grandparents do their hair may influence how you do yours as well,” Rodney says. She calls out certain hair grooming patterns or hairstyles — including tight ponytails, braids and chemical treatments — as putting you at a higher risk of hair loss.
Her advice: Do your best to avoid harsh hair grooming practices and consult a dermatologist early on if you notice hair thinning. “With hair loss, time is of the essence,” Rodney says. “It’s much easier to save the hair you have versus the ones you’ve lost.”
Mental health
Having a grandparent with a mental health condition can raise your own risk of developing one, Thea Gallagher, clinical psychologist, assistant professor at New York University's Langone Health and co-host of the Mind in View podcast, tells Yahoo Life. “We’re getting more information to try to pull as many pieces of data about family history to learn how much is hereditary and how much is due to a person’s environment,” she says. “We still have a long way to go, but there is a genetic link in some cases.”
Research has established that there is a genetic component to certain mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder and depression, but Gallagher says that parsing out your family history of mental health disorders can be difficult due to stigma. Given that mental health wasn’t as commonly discussed when grandparents were younger, compared to now, “people may say that they think a relative had or has a condition but they were never properly diagnosed,” Gallagher says. “Parents and grandparents may also want to protect their kids due to shame associated with mental health and may not discuss it,” she adds.
If a mental health condition runs in your family — or even if you just suspect that it might — Gallagher recommends being proactive in knowing the signs of that particular condition so you can monitor yourself. You can even ask a health care provider for an evaluation if you have concerns. Gallagher also suggests doing your best to be on top of other factors in your life that may influence your mental health, like practicing good nutrition, getting at least seven hours of sleep at night and exercising regularly. “We have significant data that show these could have strong implications for mental health,” she says.
Heart health
Having grandparents with heart disease raises your own risk of developing the condition, Dr. David J. Slotwiner, chief of cardiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, tells Yahoo Life. That’s “due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors,” he says.
“Certain gene mutations, such as those regulating cholesterol metabolism, fat processing and blood pressure control, may be passed down, potentially making you more susceptible to heart conditions,” Slotwiner says. But shared family habits, such as diet, exercise patterns or smoking can also affect your risk, he adds.
If you have grandparents with a history of heart disease, it’s a good idea to share that information with your doctor, Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. “Family history of heart disease is certainly one of the determinants of someone's risk for developing cardiovascular disease, especially early heart disease,” he says.
Doctors can tailor screening recommendations or medical interventions based on this information, Slotwiner says. “In some cases, enhanced screening, such as earlier and more frequent checks of blood pressure, cholesterol and heart function, may be necessary,” he adds.
But Chen stresses that “having relatives with heart disease doesn’t necessarily doom you.” Instead, he recommends focusing on factors you can control by adopting habits like exercising regularly, following a heart-healthy diet, avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular checkups. These factors “are crucial in reducing your risk,” Slotwiner says.
