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Familial risks for main neurological diseases in siblings based on hospitalizations in Sweden

Hemminki, Kari LU ; Sundquist, Kristina LU and Li, Xinjun LU (2006) In Twin Research and Human Genetics 9(4). p.6-580
Abstract

Recent successes in identifying the underlying genetic mechanisms for neurological diseases, particularly for their Mendelian forms, have had profound implications for their diagnostics, treatment and classification. However, there has never been an attempt to compare familial risks in a systematic way among and between the main neurological diseases. Familial risks were here defined for siblings who were hospitalized because of a neurological disease in Sweden. A nationwide database for neurological diseases was constructed by linking the Multigeneration Register of 0- to 69-year-old siblings to the Hospital Discharge Register for the years 1987 to 2001. Standardized risk ratios were calculated for affected sibling pairs by comparing... (More)

Recent successes in identifying the underlying genetic mechanisms for neurological diseases, particularly for their Mendelian forms, have had profound implications for their diagnostics, treatment and classification. However, there has never been an attempt to compare familial risks in a systematic way among and between the main neurological diseases. Familial risks were here defined for siblings who were hospitalized because of a neurological disease in Sweden. A nationwide database for neurological diseases was constructed by linking the Multigeneration Register of 0- to 69-year-old siblings to the Hospital Discharge Register for the years 1987 to 2001. Standardized risk ratios were calculated for affected sibling pairs by comparing them to those whose siblings had no neurological disease. There were three main results. First, it was shown that all disease groups had a familial risk, with the exception of transient ischemic attacks, and the risks could be ranked from the highest (3451) for Huntington's disease to the lowest (2.1) for inflammatory diseases. Second, increased familial risks were shown for disease subtypes for which susceptibility genes or familial clustering have not been demonstrated previously, including multiple sclerosis, sleep apnea, nerve, nerve root and plexus disorders, and cerebral palsy. Third, based on the available sample size there was no convincing evidence for familial comorbidity between the disease groups, suggesting that the factors causing familial aggregation, probably usually heritable genes, are distinct for each subtype. The high familial risks for neurological disease imply heritable etiology and opportunities for identification of further susceptibility genes.

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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Middle Aged, Nervous System Diseases/genetics, Registries, Retrospective Studies, Risk, Sweden
in
Twin Research and Human Genetics
volume
9
issue
4
pages
7 pages
publisher
Cambridge University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:16899166
  • scopus:33750103444
ISSN
1832-4274
DOI
10.1375/183242706778024991
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
f7b18b5d-3533-4f66-a359-ebc4341c42f8
date added to LUP
2019-01-30 11:12:19
date last changed
2024-01-15 13:06:10
@article{f7b18b5d-3533-4f66-a359-ebc4341c42f8,
  abstract     = {{<p>Recent successes in identifying the underlying genetic mechanisms for neurological diseases, particularly for their Mendelian forms, have had profound implications for their diagnostics, treatment and classification. However, there has never been an attempt to compare familial risks in a systematic way among and between the main neurological diseases. Familial risks were here defined for siblings who were hospitalized because of a neurological disease in Sweden. A nationwide database for neurological diseases was constructed by linking the Multigeneration Register of 0- to 69-year-old siblings to the Hospital Discharge Register for the years 1987 to 2001. Standardized risk ratios were calculated for affected sibling pairs by comparing them to those whose siblings had no neurological disease. There were three main results. First, it was shown that all disease groups had a familial risk, with the exception of transient ischemic attacks, and the risks could be ranked from the highest (3451) for Huntington's disease to the lowest (2.1) for inflammatory diseases. Second, increased familial risks were shown for disease subtypes for which susceptibility genes or familial clustering have not been demonstrated previously, including multiple sclerosis, sleep apnea, nerve, nerve root and plexus disorders, and cerebral palsy. Third, based on the available sample size there was no convincing evidence for familial comorbidity between the disease groups, suggesting that the factors causing familial aggregation, probably usually heritable genes, are distinct for each subtype. The high familial risks for neurological disease imply heritable etiology and opportunities for identification of further susceptibility genes.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hemminki, Kari and Sundquist, Kristina and Li, Xinjun}},
  issn         = {{1832-4274}},
  keywords     = {{Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Hospitalization; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Middle Aged; Nervous System Diseases/genetics; Registries; Retrospective Studies; Risk; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{6--580}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{Twin Research and Human Genetics}},
  title        = {{Familial risks for main neurological diseases in siblings based on hospitalizations in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1375/183242706778024991}},
  doi          = {{10.1375/183242706778024991}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}