A patient with several adult-onset endocrine disorders is concerned that his children may develop similar problems as they grow older

Question

Which information should the nurse provide? Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected. Select all that apply. 1. "Endocrine disorders are not known to be genetically transmitted.".
2. "The tendency toward development of some endocrine disorders seems to cluster in families.".
3. "It is too late to worry about that now, so we just need to be certain your children are well taken care of as adults.".
4. "The current thinking is that it takes both a genetic tendency and environmental influences to cause some endocrine disorders.".
5. "Some of these disorders seem to be autoimmune in nature, so genetics is not a factor.".

Answer 1

2,4
Rationale 1: Thyroid disease and diabetes are two examples of endocrine disorders that may have genetic links.
Rationale 2: Epidemiology reveals that some endocrine disorders seem to occur more frequently in some families than in others.
Rationale 3: Telling the patient that it is too late to worry is not therapeutic.
Rationale 4: Current research indicates that environmental influences on a patient with genetic tendency toward some endocrine disorders may result in expression of the disease.
Rationale 5: Type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroid disease are two disorders that may have both genetic and environmental causative factors. Genetic predisposition may exist.