Familial and Environmental Risk Predisposition in Tonsillectomy: A Case–Control Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Distribution and Clinical Characteristics

Pre- and Post-Operative Variables	Number	Percent (%)
	Mean ± SE
Sex
Male	712	57.8
Female	520	42.2
Case/Control
Case (with tonsillectomy)	615	49.9
Control (without tonsillectomy)	617	50.1
Age (y)	6.2 ± 0.1
Childhood asthma	66	5.4
Family smoking	759	61.6
Daycare attendance	992	80.6
Paternal history of tonsillectomy	96	7.8
Maternal history of tonsillectomy	98	8
Sibling history of tonsillectomy
One sibling	213	17.3
Two siblings	53	4.3
Three siblings	18	1.5
Four siblings	1	0.1
Five siblings	1	0.1
First-degree family history of tonsillectomy (in general)	376	30.5
Clinical indication (out of case group)
Primary snoring	231	37.6
OSA	181	29.4
Recurrent tonsillitis	410	66.7
Other causes	31	3.2

Abbreviations: OSA, obstructive sleep apnea; SE, standard error.

Table 2 Analysis of Factors Associated with Tonsillectomy

Variables	Cases (with Tonsillectomy) N (% of Cases)	Controls (without Tonsillectomy) N (% of Controls)	P-value
Sex			0.007
Male	377 (61.3)	335 (54.3)
Female	238 (38.7)	282 (45.7)
Childhood asthma	46 (7.5)	20 (3.2)	0.000
Family smoking	391 (63.6)	368 (59.6)	NS
Daycare attendance	558 (90.7)	438 (70.3)	0.000
Paternal history of tonsillectomy	83 (13.5)	13 (2.1)	0.000
Maternal history of tonsillectomy	73 (11.9)	25 (4.1)	0.000
Sibling history of tonsillectomy			0.000
One sibling	173 (28.1)	40 (6.5) ↑↑
Two siblings	47 (7.6)	6 (1.0) ↑
Three siblings	18 (2.9)	0 (0.0) ↑
Four siblings	1 (0.2)	0 (0.0)
Five siblings	1 (0.2)	0 (0.0)
First-degree family history of tonsillectomy (in general)	298 (48.5)	78 (12.6)	0.000

Abbreviations: N, number; NS, not significant.

Figure 1 Parents history was divided into paternal, maternal history or both.