The Genetics of Schizophrenia: A Current, Genetic-epidemiologic Perspective
Abstract
In the "Special Report on Schizophrenia" published in the Schizophrenia Bulletin in 1987, the genetic basis of schizophrenia was reviewed. Here, we provide our perspective on the current status of this area of investigation, focusing largely but not exclusively on recent findings. Methodologically rigorous family studies have now clearly shown that schizophrenia substantially aggregates in families. Familial factors that predispose to schizophrenia also increase the risk for certain schizophrenia-related personality disorders and probably for some forms of non-schizophrenic nonaffective psychosis. Results from one new twin study and updates from two ongoing adoption studies continue to support the hypothesis that genetic factors play a major role in the etiology of schizophrenia. Little is known about how genetic liability to schizophrenia is transmitted, although statistical models suggest that transmission is probably not due solely to a single major gene. Schizophrenia is clearly a complex disorder in that gene carriers need not manifest the illness (incomplete penetrance), affected individuals need not have the gene (environmental forms of phenocopies), diagnostic uncertainties cannot be avoided, and different families may carry different susceptibility genes (genetic heterogeneity). Therefore, segregation or linkage analyses are far more difficult to perform with schizophrenia than with Mendelian genetic disorders. Given this complexity, it is not too surprising that no…
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“Our confidence in scientific results should increase when similar answers are obtained by different methods, especially when these 2 methods have different strengths and weaknesses, for example, in the congruent evidence of genetic influences on schizophrenia from twin and adoption studies.53”
From Dependent Stressful Life Events and Prior Depressive Episodes in the Prediction of Major Depression (2010) · cites this paper as [53]
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- Authors
- Kendler, K. S., & Diehl, S. R.
- Affiliations
- Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center (US)
- Virginia Commonwealth University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kendler, K. S.
- Venue
- Schizophrenia Bulletin
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1993-01-01
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 261-285
- ISSN
- 0586-7614 (ISSN-L)
- 1745-1701
- OpenAlex
- W1976408965
- Cited by
- 568
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 23.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Schizophrenia Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- McMaster University
- National Institutes of Health (5r01mh045390-10)
- U.S. Public Health Service
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH041953, MH41953, MH-45390)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- schizophrenia genetics, genetic epidemiology
- MeSH terms
- Diseases in Twins, Humans, Genetic Linkage, Risk Factors, Schizophrenia
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