Study reports: Maternal age and family history are risk factors for ankylosing spondylitis

Researchers have recently investigated the prevalence and gender distribution of parents of children with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) to determine if there is an association between the these variables. To achieve this aim the family history of subjects with AS (parents, uncles, and aunts) together with maternal age at delivery and consecutive pregnancy number were assessed in the relatives of 40 local patients with confirmed AS (New York Criteria).In total the family history of AS was evaluated in 34 families of 40 AS patients. The authors report; 12 patients had no family association, 4 exhibited a paternal history (4 healthy fathers with a brother with AS) (p=0.75), 15 with a maternal history of AS, (15 healthy mothers with a brother with AS) (p=0.55), and 3 with both lines (p=0.92).The results indicated that AS was more frequent in males (29%) than in females (10%), (p=0.003) and that juvenile onset was more common in the offspring of mothers with family history (72%) (p=0.009). The number of first-born children with AS (18%) was identified to be similar to the later-born children (23%) (p= 0.78). Also, the investigators reported that the frequency of AS increased when the maternal age at delivery was ≤30 years (p=0.01).In their conclusion the authors comment that for their study population, there was no correlation between the risk for AS and the gender of the affected parent. However, an association was identified between juvenile onset and maternal family history with an increased incidence in patients with younger mothers.Reference...