Of the 413 mothers of probands who completed medical questionnaires, frequencies of RF, scarlet fever, frequent ear/throat infections, and encephalitis/meningitis were similar to those in the overall first-degree relative group. Very few mothers completed the second section of the questionnaire regarding physician-diagnosed autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; therefore, we could not estimate prevalence of maternal SLE, MS, RA, type 1 diabetes, or psoriasis.
