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A Genealogical Assessment of Heritable Predisposition to Asthma Mortality

¹ Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; and ² Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Utah and LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Craig C. Teerlink, M.S., Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, 26 South 2000 East, Room 5775 HSEB, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-5750. E-mail: craig.teerlink{at}utah.edu

Rationale: Asthma is a multifactorial disease; genetic factors have been suggested but have not been well defined.

Objectives: This study examined evidence for a heritable component to asthma mortality using a unique data resource consisting of Utah death certificates linked to a genealogy of Utah.

Methods: Cases were defined as individuals whose death certificate listed asthma as a cause of death in a registry of all Utah deaths since 1904 (n = 1,553). The genealogical index of familiality analysis was used to compare the average relatedness of asthma deaths to the expected relatedness in the Utah population. Relative risks for asthma death in relatives of individuals who died of asthma are provided for close and distant relatives.

Measurements and Main Results: The genealogical index of familiality identified a significantly higher average relatedness in cases (P < 0.001), even when close relationships were ignored. In addition, a significantly increased risk of dying of asthma was observed in first-degree relatives of cases (relative risk = 1.69, P < 0.001) and in second-degree relatives of cases (relative risk = 1.34, P = 0.003).

Conclusions: These results support a heritable contribution to asthma mortality.

Key Words: genetic predisposition • bronchial asthma • genealogy and heraldry • relative risk • Utah Population Database

AT A GLANCE COMMENTARY Scientific Knowledge on the Subject The heritable nature of asthma has been documented in various populations but is restricted to analyses concerning first-degree relatives or patient recall of family history. Familial investigations in more distant relatives are not well established. What This Study Adds to the Field These findings support the existence of a genetic contribution to a severe asthma phenotype (e.g., death).

 

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