Who is most likely to be affected by the CF mutation?

Cystic fibrosis is a common genetic disease within the white population in the United States. The disease occurs in 1 in 2,500 to 3,500 white newborns. Cystic fibrosis is less common in other ethnic groups, affecting about 1 in 17,000 African Americans and 1 in 31,000 Asian Americans.

Who is most affected by cystic fibrosis?

The disease occurs mostly in whites whose ancestors came from northern Europe, although it affects all races and ethnic groups. Accordingly, it is less common in African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. Approximately 2,500 babies are born with CF each year in the United States.

What age group is most affected by CF?

More than 75 percent of people with CF are diagnosed by age 2. More than half of the CF population is age 18 or older.

What is the most common CF gene mutation?

The most common CF mutation, F508del, is primarily considered to be a processing mutation. The F508del mutation removes a single amino acid from the CFTR protein.

Is CF more common in males or females?

Males account for slightly more than 50 percent of all cases of cystic fibrosis (CF) but generally have better outcomes than females until about age 20. After that, men and women experience roughly equal outcomes for long-term survival. Still, males with CF tend to live an average of 2 years longer than females.

CF Foundation | Other Cystic Fibrosis Mutations

What ethnic group is CF most common in?

Cystic fibrosis is a common genetic disease within the white population in the United States. The disease occurs in 1 in 2,500 to 3,500 white newborns. Cystic fibrosis is less common in other ethnic groups, affecting about 1 in 17,000 African Americans and 1 in 31,000 Asian Americans.

Who carries the CF gene?

A parent can be a CF carrier, and pass the CF gene on to their child. Once parents have had a child with CF, they have a 1 in 4 chance that each additional child will be born with CF. This means there is a 3 out of 4 chance that additional children won't have CF. But these children may be carriers of the CF gene.

Do all siblings carry the CF gene?

Each baby has the same chance to inherit CFTR mutations from both parents, no matter whether any of the other siblings are carriers or have CF. When someone with CF has children with a CF carrier, the children will either be CF carriers or have CF.

Do both parents carry the CF gene?

Cystic fibrosis is inherited. This means it is passed down from parent to child through the genes. Your baby inherited a normal CF gene (N) from one parent, and a mutation of a CF gene (C) from the other parent. This means at least one parent (mother or father) is also a CF carrier.

What if both parents have the CF gene?

If both parents, are carriers for CF, a future child could get two mutations, (C) one from each parent and therefore have cystic fibrosis. When both parents are carriers (CN), every baby has 25% chance of having cystic fibrosis.

Does CF affect a certain age group?

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that affects people of all ages. However, the majority of cases are diagnosed in children and young adults. In fact, 90% of people who have cystic fibrosis are diagnosed before they reach the age of 18.

How common is cystic fibrosis and who does it affect?

Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common genetic disorders in white people in the United States, occurring in one of every 3,200 live births. It is less common in African Americans (1 in 17,000), Asian Americans (1 in 31,000) and Native Americans.

How common is it to carry the cystic fibrosis gene?

It is estimated that approximately 1 in 35 Americans is a carrier of the CFTR gene mutation, which means more than 10 million Americans are cystic fibrosis carriers.

What is the most likely cause of cystic fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a disease that is passed down through families. It is caused by a defective gene that makes the body produce abnormally thick and sticky fluid, called mucus.

What are cystic fibrosis patients at risk for?

People who have cystic fibrosis make thick, sticky mucus that can build up and lead to blockages, damage, or infections in the affected organs. Inflammation also causes damage to organs such as the lungs and pancreas.

What are CF patients at risk for?

CF affects many different organs in the body, making people with the disease more likely to develop other health conditions including diabetes, cirrhosis (liver disease), arthritis, reflux, hypersplenism (overactive spleen), and osteoporosis.

Can baby have CF if mom is not a carrier?

People with one CF gene are called carriers. If a parent is a carrier, there's a 50 percent chance they'll pass on the gene with a mutation to their child. If both parents pass on a normal gene, or only one parent passes a gene with a mutation, the child will not have CF.

Can one sibling have CF and the other not?

This is the way the CF gene is passed on for many generations. If your child received one CF gene and one non-CF (normal) gene, he or she would not have CF disease – your child would be a CF carrier instead.

Can CF skip a generation?

one in four (25%). Some parents think that if they have had one child with CF, their other children will be born without the disease. This is not always true. With every pregnancy, parents who both carry the CF gene will always have a one in four (25%) chance of having a child with CF.

Can you have CF if only one parent is a carrier?

An individual must inherit two non-functioning CF genes – one from each parent – to have CF. If both parents are carriers there is a 1 in 4 (25 percent) chance that both will pass on the non-functioning gene, which would result in a pregnancy affected with cystic fibrosis.

Can parents be tested for CF gene?

Carrier (or genetic) testing not only plays a key role in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, but testing also allows parents to find out what their chances are of having a child with CF to help inform important family planning decisions.

Can you get CF with no family history?

Can my children have CF even if it is not in my family? Yes. In fact, most couples who have a child with CF have no family history of cystic fibrosis and are surprised to learn that they carry a mutation in the CFTR gene, which causes the condition.

Am I cystic fibrosis if my sister is a carrier?

Any blood relative (for example, brother, sister, aunt or cousin) of a CF carrier may also be a CF carrier. Your relatives may have questions about their chance of having a baby with CF, or may think that one of their children has CF. We suggest they talk to their family doctor who may offer them testing.

Does CF only affect Caucasians?

Approximately one in 25–30 Caucasians are carriers of a pathogenic mutation of the CFTR gene. In other races and ethnicities CF occurs less commonly, including approximately 1 in 4,000 – 10,000 Latin Americans, 1 in 15,000 – 20,000 African Americans, and even less commonly in Asian Americans.

Are females more likely to have CF?

Females account for roughly half of all cases of cystic fibrosis (CF) but generally have worse outcomes than males until about age 20. After that, men and women experience roughly equal outcomes for long-term survival.