Being diagnosed and learning to live with a genetic disorder can cause social, emotional, and financial stress. It often requires a great deal of adjustment in outlook and lifestyle. A person who is an adult when Marfan syndrome is diagnosed may feel angry or afraid. There may also be concerns about passing the disorder to future generations or about its physical, emotional, and financial implications.

The parents and siblings of a child diagnosed with Marfan syndrome may feel sadness, anger, and guilt. It is important for parents to know that nothing that they did caused the fibrillin-1 gene to mutate. Parents may be concerned about the genetic implications for siblings or have questions about the risk to future children.

Some children with Marfan syndrome are advised to restrict their activities. This may require a lifestyle adjustment that is hard for a child to understand or accept.

For both children and adults, appropriate medical care, accurate information, and social support make it easier to live with the disease. Genetic counseling may also be helpful for understanding the disease and its potential impact on future generations.

While Marfan syndrome is a lifelong disorder, the outlook has improved in recent years. As early as the 1970s, the life expectancy of a person with Marfan syndrome was two-thirds that of a person without the disease; however, with improvements in recognition and treatment, people with Marfan syndrome now have a life expectancy similar to that of the average person.

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