Introduction: We performed a study to
examine brothers of patients with varicocele
to determine the familial risk for varicocele.
Methods: Ninety-five patients with varicocele
who presented with infertility, testicular
pain, or cosmetic problems were enrolled
in the study. Their healthy brothers
were asked to refer and examined. A total
of 131 men without varicocele aged 10
years or older were assessed along with
their 56 brothers with varicocele. A group
of 150 men referred for employment examinations
were selected as control group
and assessed for varicocele.
Results: The mean ages of the patients,
their brothers and the controls were
21.8 � 8.1 years, 20 � 8.9 years, and
19.2 � 5.6 years, respectively. Varicocele
was seen in all, 60(45%), and 15(10%) of
them, respectively. Varicocele grades 1, 2,
and 3 were seen in 8(14.3%), 9(16.1%),
and 49(87.5%) of the patients, in
20(15.3%), 24(18.3%), and 30(22.9%) of
their brothers, and in 2(1.3%), 2(1.3%), 3
(2%) of the controls, respectively. Bilateral
involvement was present in 10(17.9%),
14(10.6%), and 5(3.3%) of the patients in
the three groups, respectively. The overall
frequency of varicocele and the frequency
of grades 2 and 3 varicocele were signifi-
cantly higher in brothers of the patients
than in the controls (P � .01; P � .05).
Conclusions: The high frequency of varicocele
among the brothers of our patients
may be an indicative of a hereditary behavior
of the disease, warranting more
investigation in this regard
