Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
Familial risk of Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome: a nationwide family study in Sweden
- Population-based sibling cohort study
- nationwide
Sensitivity analyses excluded syndromic wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) and cases without electrophysiologic confirmation
Authors' conclusion
WPW features familial aggregation and increased arrhythmic risk among siblings of affected individuals despite its extremely low absolute frequency in the general population.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals born in Sweden (1932–2018), Swedish National Patient Registers3,172 WPW cases
- Participants
- 5,338,434 individuals
- Exposure
- Sibling with WPW vs No sibling history
- Outcome
- WPW diagnosis among siblings of individuals with WPW
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
WPW diagnosis
Sibling with WPW
0.121 per 1000 person-years
WPW rate
No sibling history
0.032 per 1000 person-years
WPW rate
Each group vs no sibling historyEstimate (95% CI)P value
Sibling with WPW
IRR 3.83(2.27–6.46)
P < 0.001Sibling with WPW
adjusted SHR 3.79(1.81–7.97)
P < 0.001- Familial occurrence of WPW
- 14 of 3172 cases (0.4%; ≈0.0003% of the total population)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
AF in siblings of affected individuals
- Higher AF risk among siblings of individuals with WPW (adjusted SHR)
- SHR 1.19; 95% CI 1.05-1.35; P < 0.01
Ventricular arrhythmias in siblings of affected individuals
- Higher ventricular arrhythmia risk among siblings of individuals with WPW (adjusted SHR)
- SHR 1.84; 95% CI 1.45-2.35; P < 0.001
All-cause mortality
- All-cause mortality comparable irrespective of sibling history
- HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.92-1.11; P = 0.88
Original publication
Familial risk of Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome: a nationwide family study in Sweden. Europace. Published 8 November 2025. doi:10.1093/europace/euaf285
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it