THE IMPACT OF A POSITIVE FAMILY HISTORY O N THE PROGNOSIS IN PATIENTSWITH ANKYLOSING-SPONDYLITIS

The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether patients wi th a family history of ankylosing spondylitis might have a milder cour se of the disease than patients with a negative family history. We inv estigated a group of 197 patients with ankylosing spondylitis who had been suffering from symptoms of the disease for greater than or equal to 20 years. After exclusion of the patients with a history, or curren t evidence of colitis or urethritis, the remaining 148 patients with a nkylosing spondylitis (none with psoriasis) were divided into 2 groups on the basis of a positive (25 patients) or a negative (123 patients) family history of ankylosing spondylitis. The variables of mobility w ere compared. Furthermore, the present height was compared with the fo rmer (maximum) height. All variables measured in the present study sho wed slightly better results in the patients with a positive family his tory, but the differences were not significant. The decrease of height was slightly larger in patients with a positive family history. Evide ntly, a positive family history does not appear to give a reliable pre diction of the long-term prognosis in Austrian and German patients wit h ankylosing spondylitis.