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Heart risk 'greater among siblings'

Date published: 29/12/2005

The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in middle-aged adults is significantly increased if they have a sibling with the condition, a new study has revealed. After analysing data from 5,000 people, the scientists in the US Framingham heart study team have discovered that adults with a brother or sister who suffer from CVD have a 45 per cent increased risk of it themselves.

Although previous studies have shown that family history of CVD is an important factor in calculating risk, a lack of definitive research into the area has meant the subject is still widely debated. However, the Framingham team now claim their research has shown that having siblings with CVD may be even more important to cardiovascular risk than having parents with CVD.

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the researchers wrote: "Using validated events and a prospective design, our study substantially extends the knowledge base regarding the importance of sibling CVD.

"We observed that sibling CVD confers increased risks of CVD events above and beyond traditional risk factors and parental premature CVD. "Thus, sibling CVD should be considered as important as parental premature CVD in the assessment of risk."

The team examined data from 973 middle-aged adults who had a sibling in a CVD group and 4,506 adults who did not. They found that those with siblings suffering from CVD had a 55 per cent increased risk for incident CVD after an eight-year period compared to those who did not - after adjustment for risk factors this resulted in a 45 per cent increased risk. Cardiovascular disease kills one in three people in the UK, and while there is no single cause, scientists are discovering that risk factors such as genetic history of CVD are becoming increasingly important in the identification of the disease.

The authors concluded: "Further investigation is needed to better understand why sibling history may be a stronger predictor for CVD than parental history, including exploration of the contribution of an early shared environment to increased sibling risk."

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