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Evidence summaries

The Occurrence of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Close Relatives of Index Patients

Siblings of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm may be at increased risk for aneurysm. Level of evidence: "C"

A screening ultrasonography was performed in 325 first degree relatives aged 50 years or above of patients who had been operated on for an aneurysm and 281 control persons who had no family history of aneurysms 1. Three brothers of the patients had already been operated on because of an aneurysm. 11/101 brothers (10.9%) had an aneurysm measuring at least 30 mm in diameter. In the control group 2 men and 2 women had an aneurysm. A dilated abdominal aorta (20 - 29 mm) was detected in 30 first-degree relatives and none of the control persons.

All patients treated for AAAs in two Swedish counties were screened for siblings 2. Siblings 80 years of age or younger were invited to a one-time screening with ultrasound. In the cohort of 529 siblings to AAA patients, 53 were diagnosed with AAAs (sisters 16/276 [5.8%] and brothers 37/253 [14.6%]). The prevalence of AAAs in the siblings 65 years of age or younger was 7.7% (16/207) and in 66 to 80 years old 11.5% (37/322) . One-third of the siblings found with AAAs were young (16/53), and among them, 8/16 (50%) had an aneurysm larger than 50 mm or were already surgically treated. The AAA prevalence in this sibling cohort was high compared to the prevalence in the population (in Sweden, 1.4%-2.2% in 65-year-old men).

    References

    • Salo JA, Soisalon-Soininen S, Bondestam S, Mattila PS. Familial occurrence of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Ann Intern Med 1999 Apr 20;130(8):637-42. [PubMed]
    • Linné A, Forsberg J, Lindström D et al. Age at detection of abdominal aortic aneurysms in siblings of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms. J Vasc Surg 2016;63(4):883-7. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords