Räsänen M, Laitinen T, Kaprio J, Koskenvuo M, Laitinen L A
Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.
Allergy. 1998 Sep;53(9):885-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.1998.tb03996.x.
Like other atopic diseases, hay fever is known to cluster in families. This clustering is due either to effects of a shared family environment or to genetic inheritance. By comparing the occurrence of hay fever among monozygous (MZ) and dizygous (DZ) twin pairs, we were able to estimate the contribution of genetic and environmental factors in the development of hay fever.
A questionnaire mailed to a nationwide sample of 2483 families with 16-year-old twins furnished data for the cumulative incidence of physician-diagnosed hay fever among these adolescents and their parents.
Among the 1765 twin pairs with data available for analysis, hay fever was reported for 14.1% of boys (95% CI=12.4-15.8%) and 10.0% of girls (95% CI=8.6-11.4%). The MZ twin pairs (probandwise concordance rate=60.3%, 95% CI =52-68%) were significantly more concordant for hay fever than were DZ twin pairs (31.5%, 95% CI=26-36%). Genetic factors accounted for 74-82% of the interindividual variability in liability to hay fever, variation in shared family environment for 7% at most, and unique (individual) environment for 18%.
Familial occurrence of hay fever is mainly due to genes predisposing to the trait. Environmental exposures shared in common by family members but varying between families appear to account for at most a modest proportion of the variability in risk of developing hay fever.
与其他特应性疾病一样，花粉症在家族中具有聚集性。这种聚集性要么是由于共享的家庭环境影响，要么是由于遗传因素。通过比较同卵（MZ）和异卵（DZ）双胞胎对中花粉症的发生率，我们能够估计遗传和环境因素在花粉症发病中的作用。
向全国范围内2483个有16岁双胞胎的家庭发送调查问卷，获取这些青少年及其父母中经医生诊断的花粉症累积发病率数据。
在1765对可用于分析的双胞胎对中，报告有花粉症的男孩占14.1%（95%置信区间=12.4-15.8%），女孩占10.0%（95%置信区间=8.6-11.4%）。同卵双胞胎对（先证者一致率=60.3%，95%置信区间=52-68%）在花粉症方面的一致性明显高于异卵双胞胎对（31.5%，95%置信区间=26-36%）。遗传因素占花粉症易感性个体间变异的74-82%，共享家庭环境变异最多占7%，独特（个体）环境占18%。
花粉症的家族发病主要归因于易患该性状的基因。家庭成员共同暴露但家庭间存在差异的环境因素，在花粉症发病风险变异中所占比例至多适中。
