title: Familial abdominal aortic aneurysms in the Otago region of New Zealand.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the familial incidence and phenotypic characteristics of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in the Otago region of New Zealand.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective audit based pilot study and a prospective study of patients having abdominal aortic aneurysm repair from September 1988 to September 1999 was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  248 probands were enrolled, of which 19.4% had one or more first degree relative affected. The age at diagnosis of the familial (70.2) and non-familial (70.5) patients was similar. The proportion of females was increased in the familial subgroup. Hypercholesterolaemia was the only phenotypic feature to differentiate familial from non-familial patients and was associated with an earlier age of presentation. In the familial families, brothers were the most common relative affected and 77% of the families had two patients with AAA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  19.4% of patients operated on in the Otago area for AAA had a familial component to their aneurysm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, PO Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Rossaak
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: van Rij
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000150:complications; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D010375:Pedigree; D010641:Phenotype; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution