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Subarachnoid hemorrhage and family history. A population-based case-control study
P S Wang1, W T Longstreth, T D Koepsell
1Department of Epidemiology, Tianjin Medical College, China.
Objective:
To evaluate family history as a risk factor for subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Design And Setting:
A population-based case-control study in King County, Washington.
Subjects:
Cases consisted of 149 patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. Two control subjects who were matched to cases by gender and age within 5 years were identified for each case using random digit telephone dialing.
Main Measure:
Detailed information on family history was obtained through an in-person interview.
Results:
Some 11.4% of cases had a first-degree relative with a history of subarachnoid hemorrhage, compared with 6.4% of controls, yielding an odds ratio of 1.8 (95% CI, 0.92 to 3.7). The odds ratio for a positive family history among other relatives was 2.4 (95% CI, 1.1 to 5.2), likely reflecting family information bias. Findings were similar after adjustment was made for potential confounding variables, including cigarette smoking, a history of hypertension, and number of siblings and children.
Conclusion:
Although familial factors may be important in some families, overall they account for few cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage.