In genetic epidemiology, family studies are studies of whether a disease or trait "runs in a family".
In other words, they are studies aimed at detecting the presence or absence of familial aggregation for the disease or trait, in which having a family history is associated with greater risk.
The family research design can also be used to estimate penetrance for a given genotype, to conduct genetic association studies, and to study potential modifiers of an individual's genetic risk.
[1][2] If a family study shows that a trait is familial, this is a necessary, but not sufficient, criterion for it to be established as genetically influenced.
[3] There are three main types of family studies in genetics: