PARENTAL HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM - A RISK FACTOR FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHIES

The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors of alcohol-rela ted peripheral neuropathies. A case-control study was performed to com pare two groups of alcoholic patients, one with peripheral neuropathy and the other without: but with alcohol-related cirrhosis, pancreatiti s or cardiomyopathy. Ninety patients were recruited in four in-patient units of a French hospital: 32 patients had a peripheral neuropathy a nd 58 patients did not. Univariate analysis showed no differences betw een the two groups for sex, age, body mass index and duration of the a lcoholic disease. Peripheral neuropathies were associated with a highe r frequency of parental history of alcoholism, severity of alcohol dep endence, heavier alcohol consumption and more alcohol-related somatic diseases. Multivariate analysis showed a strong relationship between a parental history of alcoholism and the presence of a neuropathy, when the severity of the alcoholic disease was taken into account (adjuste d OR = 6.8, IC95% [2.2-21.6], P<0.001). The hypothesis that neuropathy may be a marker of an inherited susceptibility to alcoholism is discu ssed.