Your own risk of having one triples. All of us should pay attention to modifiable stroke risk factors, like blood pressure, physical activity levels and smoking. However, actively addressing these risk factors is especially important for people with this family history, whose genes increase their stroke risk further say the researchers behind the finding.

To fight it:

Exercise at least four times a week. Work out hard enough to break into a sweat each time, and your risk of having a stroke is 20 per cent lower than someone less active. It’s thanks to exercise’s beneficial effect on traditional stroke risk factors, like blood pressure and weight, say researchers.

It means your own risk of doing the same thing could accelerate by a decade – experts say a 55-year-old woman whose mum has had a hip fracture has the same risk of fracture as a 65-year-old. It’s because genetic factors are responsible for determining 50 to 90 per cent of bone mass. In fact, researchers have discovered 56 genetic variations that control bone density, which can increase fracture risk by more than 50 per cent.

To fight it:

Eat at least two fruit and five serves of vegetables a day. Both are naturally rich in potassium salts, which play a vital role in improving bone health. By reducing something called ‘bone resorption’ the salts help prevent osteoporosis, say UK researchers.

You’re between 4 and 10 times more likely to develop it too, compared to someone with no family history of Alzheimer’s, which is the most common type of dementia. And while your risk rises if either parent has the disease, it’s significantly higher when it’s your mum who’s affected.

To fight it:

Start following the MIND diet, a brain-healthy diet that cuts the risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 50 per cent. It means eating plenty of vegetables (particularly green leafy ones), wholegrain, nuts, berries, beans, fish, poultry, olive oil and a little wine, and avoiding red meat, butter, cheese, pastries, sweets and fried food.

Your risk of developing it too, doubles. And it’s even higher if your mum was diagnosed before her 50^th birthday. There are at least 40 different genetic markers that have been identified as playing a role in increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, but the good news is that the function of at least 50 per cent of them can be modified by healthy lifestyle habits.

To fight it:

Drink an extra cup of coffee a day, say US

scientists. That’ll reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by 11 per cent. But, most importantly, watch your weight and be physically active, the researchers advise.

You’re six times more likely to experience the same thing, which means entering menopause before you reach 45 – at least six years earlier than average. The big deal? Losing estrogen earlier than usual can bump up your risk of heart disease and osteoporosis.

To fight it:

If you smoke, stop. Cigarette smoke damages DNA, which is one reason why smokers reach menopause two years earlier than non-smokers, on average. And eat plenty of low-fat dairy foods, after US researchers linked them to delaying menopause.

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