How does the Alpha I-Antityrpsin Deficiency test line up with what you know about your family's medical history?
I kind of know that when doctors ask about your family's medical history, they really don't expect you to go as far back as the early 19th century. But I certainly did. My parents, grandparents, and ancient ancestors have all made their transitions, but I contain various parts of what they were collectively, genetically speaking.
I have been researching my family history for over 30 years, and have made some very interesting discoveries about my ancestors. Thanks to the internet, many States have free online records which include birth, marriage, and death certificates.
Death certificates/records prior to 1922 are seldom found online for most States. Information contained on death certificates of earlier ancestors can give us a lot of insightful medical information that could prove very beneficial to us today.
The medical information regarding my earlier paternal ancestors is for those who were born around the mid to late 1800's.
After organizing the death certificates, I soon concluded that the leading cause of death for one surname group was as a result of various pulmonary and respiratory diseases/illness, i. e. asthma, bronchial pneumonia, emphysema, Influenza, pulmonary edema, pulmonary tuberculosis, and tuberculosis.
However, evidence was lacking in these records as to whether or not these diseases were due to behavioral, chemical, environmental, or hereditary factors. The information I gathered was obtained by using the medical findings of coroner and physician reports of the early 20th century, along with family traditions.
As you probably guessed or know, not all siblings will have the same genetic markers for this test. In other words, just because your sibling tested positive does not necessarily mean you will.
I wanted to share this information with everyone to encourage you all to start shaking your family trees for additional health insights if you haven't done so already.
For those wanting to know more about Antitrypsin Deficiency, there is a link for the Alpha I Foundation located at the bottom of this website.