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A person may have an increased risk for cystic fibrosis because of his or her family history and genetics, and race or ethnicity.
A person is at higher risk for having cystic fibrosis if one or both parents is a carrier of a mutated CFTR gene or has cystic fibrosis. A person is also at higher risk if a sibling, half-sibling, or first cousin has cystic fibrosis. More than 10 million Americans are carriers of a CFTR gene mutation, yet many of them do not know it.
Cystic fibrosis is most common in people of northern European ancestry and less common in Hispanics and African Americans. It is relatively uncommon in Asian Americans.