Is schizophrenia genetic?

Question

My grandma is CRAZY! She is convinced people are always recording her with these small "disk" cameras, and then she says that they project the images of her back onto the wall. She even took my girlfriend into her bathroom and turned off the lights to see if my girlfriend saw this "blinking eye" on her wall. Needless to say my girlfriend is never going to visit again. The thing is she hasn’t always been like this. I mean she was always a little weird but now it’s full blown crazy.

So should I be worried that I may one day inherit these traits or maybe that my kids will?

Answer 1

Schizophrenia has genetic etiologies. However, it is not 100% genetic, meaning there has to be an environmental trigger that interacts with a predisposing gene (look up "diathesis-stress model" or "stress - vulnerability-protective factors model").

There are a handful of "candidate genes" for schizophrenia. These are genes that researchers believe can be the predisposing ones, primarly based on twin studies where one twin has schizophrenia and the other doesn't. However, these are only possibilities, so no genetic tests for the disorder are available at this time.

Regarding your grandmother, unless she's always been like that, it's more likely she's developing dementia. Schizophrenia has an onset in the early 20s for most people, although late onsets are not unheard of. Unless schizophrenia runs in your family, I would not worry too much about inheriting it. I'd worry more about getting your grandmother some help. What she's going through can be very scary for her.

Answer 2

Hi im not actually Jane but her daughter on her acccount i found this interesting and wanted to answer so i hope i can help Schizophrenia is not genetic as such however there is research to suggest that if you have close family relations with schizophrenia your risk of developing it is increased for example if you had one parent with schizophrenia then your risk of developing it is about 13 % this risk can vary from 13-35% if both parents have dominant schizophrenia if you have a sibling with schizophrenia then your risk is about 8% if no other relatives have it as your aunt would be considered a 2nd degree relative (i.e not blood related to the extent of a parent or sibling ) your risk of developing the disorder would be low if i was you i wouldn't worry the average persons risk of schizophrenia is 1% your risk would be probably be no higher then about 1-3% basically no higher then anyone else if at all schizophrenia develops because of many reasons and not just because of genetics your environment plays just as an important part the best thing to do is not to worry your risk is as low as the rest of the population your risk of passing it onto your children because of your great aunts diagnose is practically non exist int and nothing to worry about

Answer 3

This is a direct quote: Hope it helps.


"No one knows for sure if schizophrenia is genetic. There are still many theories about what causes schizophrenia and no one theory has been proven as the cause. The prevailing theory is that schizophrenia is a brain disease. It is also believed that stress and environment can play a role in the development of schizophrenia.

Research does show that children who have a parent with schizophrenia have a 13% to 15% increase risk for getting schizophrenia but just because a parent has schizophrenia does not mean their offspring will get it. Schizophrenia, if it strikes usually begins in early adulthood between the ages of 18 and 25 for males. Men tend to develop schizophrenia earlier than women."

Answer 4

Well, if she wasn't this way earlier (say in her 20s 30s and 40s), chances are it isn't schizophrenia, but Alzheimers or some kind of senile dementia. Schizophrenia usually appears by the 20s or 30s. Schizophrenia is genetic, in that you are more likely to have it if your parents or grandparents had it, but it is not 100% heritable or anything near that percentage. I am not sure whether Alzheimer's has a strong genetic component.

Hope that helps

Dana A

Answer 5

Wow, your grams IS having severe skitzo delusions at the moment. I have lived with someone who was in the past... There are gentic componets to the disease, but there are also environmental componets as well. Just because your grandmother has it, doesn't mean your parents do or you do. It makes the chances higher, but being raised in by a schizophenic parent will increase the chances. So if you're ok, and you raise your kids while being healthy, chances are they won't develope these tendencies. It is a very complex disease, and there can also be other biological and chemical influences which contribute to the disease, like long term use of cocaine and other psycoactive drugs.

Answer 6

I thought so but I was talking to a medical student who says environmental factors sometimes can trigger schizophrenia. Though that would mean someone has a gene that is pre-disposed to it. A family friend of ours jumped through a sliding glass door during an episode. She has been on medication and has been fine ever since.

Answer 7

It is NOT genetic. There may be a familial trait toward schizophrenia but you do not inherit it. Grandma may be suffering from some senility issues?

Answer 8

yes it is hereditery. she may be demented or have alzheimers. if this is a new trait she has developed, then she should see a doctor. sounds like she's paranoid. that can be schizo and/or dementia.

Answer 9

Nothing is really genetic. Research epigenetics.

Answer 10

yes it's genetic. But my question is why isn't anyone getting her any help?