People with mental illnesses and disorders are not uncommon. Inadequate behavior, impaired thinking processes, incoherent thoughts, hallucinations are frequent companions of such diseases.
For centuries, many generations have been interested in the role of heredity in mental illness. Discussions in the circle of acquaintances about the oddities of one or another person were not uncommon, where facts of inadequate behavior and disorders surfaced in one of his relatives. All this convinced that in the event of marriage with a young lady or gentleman in whose family there were relatives suffering from mental illness, there was a risk of mental disorders in born children - their descendants.
This problem is relevant at the present time. One common mental illness is schizophrenia. A disease that equally affects both male and female representatives. Women - in a later age category and to a lesser extent. At least 1% of the world's inhabitants suffer from the disease. Including the disease affects children. And it is not surprising that many people directly related to this type of disorder are concerned about the question: is schizophrenia inherited?
Marrying young people, one of whom is suffering from a disorder, their family and friends turn to psychiatrists for an answer, hoping to dispel their doubts about the possibility of schizophrenia in the expected offspring.
At various forums, both among interested people, their environment, and among medical specialists, a problem arises - schizophrenia: is it inherited?
Many sources devoted to mental disorders highlight several causes of this disease.
The data from numerous studies in the field of schizophrenia are inherited ambiguously. Currently, the mechanisms of this disease are being comprehensively studied. Diagnostic tests are carried out for the sick, and of various categories, various versions are put forward, the symptoms are interpreted, conclusions are drawn. The results of most studies nevertheless confirm the fact that schizophrenia is inherited. The number of children who become ill in the families of parents suffering from the disorder is quite significant and may be, according to some tests, up to 20%. The most likely risk of illness in children, as well as adults, is in families where their parents, sisters and brothers are sick, that is, relatives in a straight line. The risk of morbidity among twins is very high. This can not be ignored by the researchers and confirms the fact of a high degree of hereditary conditionality of this disorder. However, some of the tests carried out, however, cast doubt on this factor, motivating their conclusions with the fact that a large number of people get sick without having people affected by this disease among their relatives. Not so long ago, researchers from Columbia University (United States of America) expressed their doubts and put forward assumptions in this area.
Recently, researchers who ask themselves and are interested in the problem: “schizophrenia - is inherited or not,” are more inclined to the influence of the environment, including those suffering from this disease, on the development of the disease in humans. Pointing out in his tests the importance of the environment in which the sufferer grew up, and the degree of his education as a sick relative.
Nevertheless, unambiguous conclusions denying the factor of heredity in the development of the disease have not yet been made. This does not allow to completely refute the theory that schizophrenia is inherited.