Studies in Rheumatic Disease. V. The Age at Onset of Primary Rheumatic Attack

Heredity and Rheumatic Fever: A Study of 462 Families Ascertained by an Affected Child and 51 Families Ascertained by an Affected Mother

“…However in all other reports, where a control series has been used, the proportion of affected sibs amongst those of the rheumatic propositi has been higher than that prevailing in the non-rheumatic group (e.g. Medical Research Council, 1927; Gauld & Read, 1940a;Roberts, 1951).…”

“…It is of A. C. STEVENSON AND E. A. CHEESEMAN 186 interest to note that on the same criterion, the female propositi had a significantly older age of onset than the male. Gauld & Read (1940b) avoided some of these difficulties by considering the ages of onset as stated by 132 affected relatives of the parental generation of 96 children admitted to hospital for a rheumatic manifestation. Their distribution indicated that only 61 (37.8 yo) onsets occurred before the fifteenth birthday.…”

“…The occurrence of cases in a family simultaneously or over a short period, has often been recorded, but such cases would in any event occur by chance from time to time. Gauld & Read (1940a) in their study of familial association and aggregation of the disease, concluded that following an exposure to an acute first attack or a subsequent acute episode of rheumatic fever in the family, the 'risk of contracting the disease in the siblings of the index cases was increased to more than twice that which prevailed prior to this association '.…”