The familial occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Epidemiological studies of the carpal tunnel syndrome have generally overlooked the possibility of a familial occurrence. A prospective study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and significance of a positive family history of carpal tunnel syndrome. Seventy-five of 253 women and 40 of 168 men with a confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome had at least one relative with symptoms of, or surgery for, carpal tunnel syndrome. A positive family history was predictive of a median abnormality or prior surgery at the carpal tunnel (chi-square = 20.484, P < 0.001). The 84 patients with a prior carpal tunnel surgery, likely the most well informed historically, had a positive family history of 39.3% versus 13.3% in the 279 patients without median latency slowing. The familial occurrence appears crucial in the epidemiological study of carpal tunnel syndrome, and may be important in the selection of normal subjects for electrodiagnostic standards.