Further Observations on the Occurrence of Rheumatic Manifestations in the Families of Rheumatic Patients

Studies of Rheumatic Disease. Iii. Familial Association and Aggregation in Rheumatic Disease

“…A manifestation of rheumatic disease was defined as chorea, rheumatic fever, or rheumatic heart disease, and this definition is the same as that used in the two preceding articles (1,2). Detailed information for each individual in 95 2 of these families is available with respect to the date of birth, date of last observation, and the date of onset, duration, and type of each manifestation of rheumatic disease.…”

“…It has long been recognized that there is a tendency for the disease to occur more frequently in some families than in others. In a previous study (1) based upon the records of the families of patients admitted to the Cardiac Clinic of the Harriet Lane Home, careful statistical analysis suggested that hereditary constitution might be a factor in causing this aggregation. The evidence presented, however, did not exclude the possibility that the familial aggregation might be due solely or principally to common exposure either to a microbic cause and/or to any environmental factor, such as nutritional deficiency, which favored development of the disease.…”

Influence of Nutrition in Experimental Infection

“…This is true for infectious disease of such diverse etiology as leprosy (8,9), rheumatic fever (10,11), poliomyelitis (12), and tuberculosis (13,14). One of the best of these studies is that of Kailman and Reisner (14) in tuberculosis.…”