Rheumatologist Reveals Key Family History Details Patients Often Overlook

2 (Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images)A rheumatologist will ask about your family history at your appointment. And knowing what to say is more important than you might think.

For starters, though—why would you go to a rheumatologist in the first place? It’s a good question and one that Dr. Richard Furie, MD, the division chief of rheumatology at Northwell Health, had to answer for his own mother.

“As far as training goes, a rheumatologist is a specialist in internal medicine,” Dr. Furie explained to her and Parade. “After three years of training, you get to choose a specialty.”

Instead of cardiology or pulmonology, future rheumatologists complete a two- to three-year rheumatology fellowship. There, they learn about inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and Sjogren’s syndrome. Dr. Furie points out that the Arthritis Foundation reports about 100 types of arthritis and related conditions, which can damage joints and other organs.

“You might go see a rheumatologist if you suspect you have an inflammatory disease,” he adds. “How someone self-diagnoses is a little difficult. We see patients who come on their own volition. We see patients who come from their family doctor, and we see patients who are referred to us by sub-specialists.”

When you go and see a rheumatologist, you’ll get an “old-fashioned experience.”

“We’re not so procedurally oriented,” Dr. Furie says. “Our skills are based on listening to the patient, examining the patient, ordering the appropriate lab tests and interpreting them appropriately. We talk and hopefully listen—something that, I think, is becoming a lost art.”

One thing they want to hear about is family history. And there’s one specific thing Dr. Furie says many people forget to mention about family history to their rheumatologist—and why he wishes they wouldn’t.

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Dr. Furie says many people forget to mention their family history of non-rheumatoid, autoimmune or related inflammatory conditions to a rheumatologist. However, rheumatologists treat much more than rheumatoid arthritis.

“The current thinking about rheumatic diseases is that most of the rheumatic diseases we are seeing are autoimmune,” Dr. Furie says. “An autoimmune disease is when the immune system goes a little haywire and, for unknown reasons, starts attacking the body.”Dr. Furie adds that genes are involved in many of these conditions, so genetics can increase the likelihood that you’ll develop a non-rheumatoid, autoimmune or related inflammatory condition that a rheumatologist may be able to help you manage, such as:

Sjogren’s disease (the immune system attacks the glands around the eyes and mouth, causing dryness)

Systemic lupus (manifestations include arthritis, rash and, more severely, kidney disease)

“I could go on and on naming, you know, up to about 100 different conditions,” Dr. Furie says. “It’s not uncommon at all to hear that your patient’s brother or sister has another autoimmune disease.”

Related: ‘I’m a Rheumatologist—These Are the Symptoms I Ask About Before Suspecting Autoimmune Disease’

Dr. Furie says that genetics can contribute to your risk of developing conditions that rheumatologists help treat, like lupus or the joint inflammation that can come with inflammatory bowel disease. Still, he says they’ll record the history, but they won’t diagnose you based on it.

“If you have a family history of a condition, we’ll record it, do a physical and check the labs, but it won’t change how we interact with you,” Dr. Furie says.

Genes can and do play a role, but many rheumatoid and non-rheumatoid autoimmune or related inflammatory conditions need another trigger. “We’ve been looking for viral causation of lupus for decades,” he adds.

Still, he says it’s important to tell your rheumatologist. It can provide context for symptoms and bloodwork that indicate non-rheumatoid, autoimmune or related inflammatory conditions.

Related: ‘I’m a Rheumatologist, and This Is the Little-Known Arthritis Tip I Swear By’

Mentioning a family history of non-rheumatoid, autoimmune or related inflammatory conditions at your first appointment with a rheumatologist is solid information. But it’s not all that your new rheumatologist wants to know about you, including your symptoms from start to finish.

“Often, patients start at the end, but we want to trace back to when their symptoms first began,” Dr. Furie says. “We need them to describe their symptoms in great detail.”

He also wants to know which medications you’ve tried and which other doctors you’ve seen for these symptoms.For instance, you may have tried a skin cream for lupus, which a provider may have initially thought was lupus.

In other words, your rheumatologist wants the most complete history you can give them.

“When you’re a medical student, you want to move on and do the lab test, butthe answers are largely coming from the history,” Dr. Furie says, clarifying it’s more than family history. “Then, of course, we do a physical exam, and then we do pertinent laboratory tests.”

Your rheumatologist will follow up with you in a week or two to review lab findings—and you two can go about helping you feel better from there.

Related: ‘I’m a Rheumatologist, and This Is the #1 Habit to Break ASAP if You Have Inflammation’

Dr. Richard Furie, MD, the division chief of rheumatology at Northwell Health

This story was originally published by Parade on Oct 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Health & Wellness section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.