Recurrent tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils) may have a strong genetic component, researchers report in the Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery.Lead investigator Dr. Ellen Kvestad from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo told Reuters Health that the disease is known to run in families but the finding that this is due to genetic factors with no contribution from common environmental factors “was a bit surprising."Kvestad and associates used data from 9479 Norwegian twins to investigate the possible genetic and environmental contributions to recurrent tonsillitis.Recurrent tonsillitis was more prevalent among females (14.1 percent) than among males (8.8 percent), the authors report, and the overall prevalence was 11.7 percent.
