Parental history of alcoholism: a risk factor for alcohol-related peripheral neuropathies

The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors of alcohol-related peripheral neuropathies. A case-control study was performed to compare two groups of alcoholic patients, one with peripheral neuropathy and the other without, but with alcohol-related cirrhosis, pancreatitis or cardiomyopathy. Ninety patients were recruited in four in-patient units of a French hospital: 32 patients had a peripheral neuropathy and 58 patients did not. Univariate analysis showed no differences between the two groups for sex, age, body mass index and duration of the alcoholic disease. Peripheral neuropathies were associated with a higher frequency of parental history of alcoholism, severity of alcohol dependence, heavier alcohol consumption and more alcohol-related somatic diseases. Multivariate analysis showed a strong relationship between a parental history of alcoholism and the presence of a neuropathy, when the severity of the alcoholic disease was taken into account (adjusted OR = 6.8, IC95% [2.2-21.6], P < 0.001). The hypothesis that neuropathy may be a marker of an inherited susceptibility to alcoholism is discussed.