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Precision medicine, sometimes called personalized medicine, is an approach for protecting health and treating disease that takes into account a person’s genes, behaviors, and environment. Interventions are tailored to individuals or groups, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach in which everyone receives the same care. But what does this mean and how can precision medicine protect your health?

The mission of CDC's Public Health Genomics is to integrate advances in human genetics into public health research, policy, and programs

Tell your doctor if you have a family health history of heart disease.

Has your mother or sister had breast cancer? Does your mother, father, sister, or brother have diabetes? Did your mother, father, brother, or sister have colorectal (colon) cancer before age 50? If you answered “yes,” you are more likely to get the same disease as your parent or sibling and should consider earlier screening. Talk to your doctor about when to start screening and what other steps to take to prevent the disease or find it early. Finding disease early can often mean better health in the long run.

State health departments in Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, and Utah explored the use of genomic information, including family health history, in chronic disease prevention programs. To support these explorations, the Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided cooperative agreement funds from 2003 through 2008. The 4 states’ chronic disease programs identified advocates, formed partnerships, and assessed public data; they integrated genomics into existing state plans for genetics and chronic disease prevention; they developed projects focused on prevention of asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions; and they created educational curricula and materials for health workers, policymakers, and the public. Each state’s program was different because of the need to adapt to existing culture, infrastructure, and resources, yet all were able to enhance their chronic disease prevention programs with the use of family health history, a low-tech “genomic tool.” Additional states are drawing on the experience of these 4 states to develop their own approaches.

Suboptimal lifestyle factors in combination with genetic susceptibility contribute to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos.

The mission of the CDC's Office of Public Health Genomics is to integrate advances in human genetics into public health research, policy, and programs

An organism's complete set of DNA is called its genome. Virtually every single cell in the body contains a complete copy of the approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs, or letters, that make up the human genome.

Review Article. Describes recent advances in genomic science and drug response. Describes potential applications for drug selection and administration based on genomic science that may be able to reduce adverse drug reactions.

Talk to your doctor about your family health history of osteoporosis