Psychiatric Disorders in the Biological and Adoptive Families of Adopted Individuals With Affective Disorders
Abstract
To investigate the contribution of genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of mood disorders, a study was initiated to examine the frequency of psychiatric disorders in the biological and adoptive relatives of adult adoptees with mood disorders and in matched normal adoptees. Psychiatric evaluations of the relatives were made on the basis of independent blind diagnoses based on mental hospital and other official records. Analysis of the data showed an eightfold increase in unipolar depression among the biological relatives of the index cases and a 15-fold increase in suicide among the biological relatives of the index cases. These data demonstrate a significant genetic contribution to unipolar depression and suicide. They fail to disclose a significant contribution of family-associated transmission in the genesis of the mood disorders.
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Heritability of fatal or nonfatal suicidal behavior and even ideation is moderate.
“Human genetic studies have made three major observations: 1) heritability of fatal or nonfatal suicidal behavior and even ideation is moderate; 2) heritability of suicidal behavior is independent of major psychiatric syndromes; and 3) heritability of suicidal behavior is mediated by many gene variants of small effect (44-47).”
From A brain-centric model of suicidal behavior (2020) · cites this paper as [46]
Heritability of suicidal behavior is independent of major psychiatric syndromes.
“Human genetic studies have made three major observations: 1) heritability of fatal or nonfatal suicidal behavior and even ideation is moderate; 2) heritability of suicidal behavior is independent of major psychiatric syndromes; and 3) heritability of suicidal behavior is mediated by many gene variants of small effect (44-47).”
From A brain-centric model of suicidal behavior (2020) · cites this paper as [46]
Heritability of suicidal behavior is mediated by many gene variants of small effect.
“Human genetic studies have made three major observations: 1) heritability of fatal or nonfatal suicidal behavior and even ideation is moderate; 2) heritability of suicidal behavior is independent of major psychiatric syndromes; and 3) heritability of suicidal behavior is mediated by many gene variants of small effect (44-47).”
From A brain-centric model of suicidal behavior (2020) · cites this paper as [46]
Suicide is moderately heritable independently of the heritability of major psychiatric disorders.
“Suicide is moderately heritable independently of the heritability of major psychiatric disorders (45, 46).”
From A brain-centric model of suicidal behavior (2020) · cites this paper as [46]
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- Authors
- Wender, P. H.
- Affiliations
- University of Utah (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wender, Paul H.
- Venue
- Archives of General Psychiatry
- Publisher
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Published
- 1986-10-01
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 923
- ISSN
- 0003-990X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2044599947
- Cited by
- 560
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 45 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 11.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Archives of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH20712)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- mood disorders, major depressive disorder, suicide, adopted children, biological relatives, adoptive families, genetic transmission, family history (medicine), heritability
- MeSH terms
- Adjustment Disorders, Adoption, Adult, Mental Disorders, Denmark, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Registries, Suicide
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