How Important Is Disclosing Ethnicity To Doc

How important or unimportant is my ethnicity / genetics in dealing with any undiagnosed medical problem? I have mild Lupus and I have recently been experiencing neurological and/or autoimmune symptoms that my doctors are having trouble diagnosing.

In all the years I have seen physicians for this and other routine things no one has ever asked me about my ethnicity and yet genetics have come a long way. I have never volunteered this information either.  I figured that if they didn't ask me then it was unimportant at the time.

Both my husband and I are from uninterrupted (as far as I know) , Ashkenazi Jewish descent. We live in a rural area where physicians wouldn't necessarily expect that lineage. Should I be disclosing that on my own to our physicians. I especially want to know for our kids sake.

[vanguy]

Hi Jlisa,

I read up a bit on this one because it was an interesting question.  In this case, I think it wouldn't make much of a difference because a)The genetic inheritance of lupus among populations is low b)The inheritance isn't entirely concordant(that means, environmental or external factors also play a role, c)Your population size is high, thus having a high degree of variation d)Lupus involves more than one gene and e)You already know what it is and are looking to explain clinical manifestations.

However, just in case these neurological effects are due to something unrelated to lupus, it might be useful to inform your doctor of your lineage and whether any of your other family members display or have displayed similar symptoms.  Truth be told though, the average family practitioner is probably unlikely to spot or look for a genetic link (and it would likely be unwise to do so), unless your family members have experienced similar symptoms.  So it is probably unnecessary in this case; it is probably a good thing to tell them anyways as you never know when your inheritance will come in handy in the future.

[Rachelinpain]

do not know if you will check this anymore but, you should ABSOLUTELY tell your doctor about your ethnicity.  there are several genetic defects associated particularly with ashkanazi jewish descent, these are paticular to your ethnic group (some of these are deadly conditions such as Tay Sacs and some blood disorders).  he may recommend additional testing for you and your unborn children and may need to prepare for certain problems if you do decide to have children.  i am not a doctor but i did go to medical school and i would advise you should always disclose EVERYTHING about you, your background, your habits, etc. to ANY doctor.  doctors can only help you if they know as much as possible.  you may think there is something a doctor does not need to know, but sometimes the most minute thing can be important.  although lupus is not known to be genetic, there are other important things the doctor may need to know.