Prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in first-degree relatives: detecting AAA in adult offspring of AAA patients.

BACKGROUND: First-degree relatives of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) may have an increased risk of developing the disease. The primary aim was to report the prevalence of AAA in adult male and female offspring of patients with AAA. The secondary aim was to explore the efficiency of a registry-based detection route, and the third aim was to report contemporary prevalence in the population. METHODS: Adult offspring of individuals with AAA and matched controls were identified through national registries. The examination included questionnaires and ultrasound examinations of the infrarenal aorta. Aortic pathology was defined as an aortic diameter ≥25 mm, AAA ≥30 mm. RESULTS: The participation rate among male and female adult offspring was 64% (350/543) and 69% (402/583), respectively. A lower participation rate was found in male and female controls (51% and 52%). No difference in prevalence of AAA was observed between male adult offspring and controls (0.9%, c.i. 0.2 to 2.3%) or in the female population (prevalence of 0.2% in adult offspring and controls). Aortic pathology and previously diagnosed AAA were detected in 5.3% (c.i. 3.3 to 8.0%) of male adult offspring and 2.3% (c.i. 1.1 to 4.2%) in controls. Aortic pathology was more prevalent among adult offspring of females with AAA. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of AAA in the general population is low, but aortic pathology is notably higher among male first-degree relatives. Increased awareness should be directed towards individuals with a possible hereditary predisposition, particularly offspring of females with AAA and older smokers. Risk factor-based targeted screening of adult offspring of patients with AAA after registry-based detection should be further explored. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT4623268.

Evaluating feasibility of using national registries for identification, invitation, and ultrasound examination of persons with hereditary risk for aneurysm disease-detecting abdominal aortic aneurysms in first degree relatives (adult offspring) to AAA patients (DAAAD).

BACKGROUND: Sweden and the UK invite all 65-year-old men to a population-based ultrasound-based screening program to detect abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). First-degree relatives of patients with AAA are reported to have an increased risk to develop AAA, both women and men, but are not invited to screening. The "Detecting AAA in First Degree Relatives to AAA patients" (DAAAD) was designed to detect the true prevalence in adult offspring to AAA patients and to evaluate if national registries could be used for identification of index persons and their adult children with a high risk for the disease. The aim of this study is to summarize the design and methodology for this registry-based study. METHODS: The study is based on a registry-based extraction and identification of a risk group in the population with a subsequent identification of their adult offspring. The targeted risk group suffers a heredity for a potentially lethal disease, AAA (n = 750) and matched control group without heredity for AAA is also identified and invited (n = 750). The participation rate in the population-based AAA screening program for men is 75% regionally. This population is younger and have a lower prevalence. A participation rate of 65% is considered clinically adequate. For the DAAAD study, a stratified analysis of the primary outcome, prevalence, will be performed for women and men separately. Two other planned projects are based on the material: firstly, evaluation of the anxiety for disease and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and, secondly, the cost-effectiveness of the study. DISCUSSION: In conclusion, this feasibility study will be instrumental in supporting the development of a possible new model to invite persons with high risk to develop hereditary rare diseases. To our knowledge, this is a unique, safe, and most likely to be a cost-efficient model to invite targeted risk groups for selected screening. If the study design and the results are shown to be cost-effective at the detected participation rate and prevalence, it should be further evaluated and adopted to a national screening program. The model also invites both women and men, which is unique for this specific patient group, considering that all population-based screening programs only include men. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered at the website of Clinical Trials. CLINICALTRIALS: gov identifier, NCT4623268.

Risk factors in 50-year-old men predicting development of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially lethal condition associated with several well-known risk factors including age, smoking, and male sex. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors predicting future development of AAA, which could influence future prevention strategies. METHODS: This study collected the data sets of the Westmannia Cardiovascular Risk Factors Study (WICTORY) from 1990 to 1999 and combined them with cases of individuals who have undergone ultrasound examination of the infrarenal aortic diameter as part of the Västmanland County's ongoing AAA screening program that commenced in 2007 or for other purposes. The study analyzed 5817 men aged 50 years at the time they participated in WICTORY and who underwent an ultrasound examination of the infrarenal aorta on average 15 years later. RESULTS: The prevalence of AAA in our study was 2.6%. Age, smoking status, angina pectoris treatment, prior myocardial infarction, blood pressure treatment, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and total cholesterol level were found to be associated with the development of AAA later in life in the univariate analysis. In the multivariate analysis, current smokers at age 50 years had 11 times higher risk for later development of AAA (hazard ratio [HR], 11.178; confidence interval [CI], 6.277-19.908; P < .001). Former smokers did not suffer a similar risk of AAA development. Elevated total cholesterol concentration at baseline was associated with later AAA development (HR, 1.275; CI, 1.119-1.451; P < .001), as were increasing age (HR, 1.702; CI, 1.153-2.512; P = .007) and waist circumference (HR, 1.019; CI, 1.002-1.037; P = .031). CONCLUSIONS: Both the well-known and the somewhat less established possible predictors for future development of AAA identified in this study can support improvement of strategic preventive measures toward specific risk groups and thereby possibly reduce the risk for development of AAA later in life or at least increase the possibility of an early diagnosis in patients with intact AAA.