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VERIFIED CONTENTConsultation: lek. Tomasz Nęcki

Possible causes of mental disorders and diseases include: factors such as exposure to exceptional, stressful events, experiencing various types of violence or the use of psychoactive substances. In medicine, however, it has been mentioned for many years that genes play a role in the pathogenesis of many diseases - for this reason many patients wonder whether genetic diseases can be hereditary. The answer to this question may be surprising for many people.

Nowadays, more and more is said about various mental disorders and diseases - it is mentioned both due to the fact that their frequency is increasing, and because they are simply recognized more and more often. In the past, abnormal behavior was recognized, inter alia, in for a manifestation of satanic possession or the effect of casting a curse on someone, it is now known, however, that they may result from, for example, schizophrenia and that they require appropriate treatment.

People with mental disorders can actually be found everywhere - this kind of problems are experienced by colleagues and members of the immediate family. It happens that a mental illness occurs in a child, sometimes it can develop in a spouse.

In both, but also in many other situations, their relatives and patients themselves may consider mental he alth problems - often these include reflections on whether mental illnesses can be genetic.

Causes of mental disorders and diseases

Many scientists have already analyzed the causes of mental illnesses, and in the case of most of them, it has not been possible to clearly establish what is really responsible for their occurrence. It is pointed out that psychological, social and biological factors contribute to the pathogenesis of problems in the field of psychiatry.

Various stressful events can contribute to mental disorders, such as :

  • job loss,
  • parting with a long-term partner,
  • death of a loved one,
  • change of residence.

They can also lead to the occurrence of such individuals, very traumaticevents such as:

  • becomes a rape victim,
  • involved in a traffic accident,
  • experiencing some natural disaster.

The risk of mental disorders and diseases is also influenced by social factors, such as the support received from relatives (which is particularly noticeable in children whose mental disorders result from insufficient support in the family), as well as financial stability or relationships with other people.

An important role in the pathogenesis of mental diseases is played by biological factors - for example, we are talking about abnormal concentrations of certain neurotransmitters in the central nervous system, which are associated, among others, with with depression or schizophrenia. This group of possible causes of mental illnesses also includes genetic determinants.

The role of genes in the pathogenesis of mental illness

In the case of many diseases, attention is drawn to the impact of inherited genes on their occurrence - finally, there are genetic diseases, such as, for example, cystic fibrosis, but also diseases in which genetic determinants generally play a very large role role (such as autoimmune diseases).

It is probably not surprising that also in the case of mental illnesses, scientists have repeatedly undertaken research, thanks to which it could be assessed whether genes are related to their occurrence.

The results of the research conducted so far are rather not surprising - well,genetic determinants have some importance in the development of mental disorders and diseases . We can mention here, for example, schizophrenia, in which when someone from the family suffers from it, the risk of an individual in another person from the same family may be 5 to 15 times higher than for the general population.

The risk of contracting the above-mentioned disease when one parent suffers from it, in the case of his child may be below 20%, however, when both parents suffer from schizophrenia, the risk of developing the disease in the offspring may reach almost 50%.

Ultimately, when someone in the family has a mental illness, the risk of developing the problem in other people may actually be increased. All the time, however - which must definitely be emphasized here - we are talking about risk, and not about certainty that other people will get sick.

Mental illnesses are not hereditary, but a predisposition to them may be inherited

Many people may wonder whether mental diseases can be hereditary, for example those who have an individual interested in psychiatry andthey are thinking of starting a family. Referring to the aspects already described, one can state with full force -mental illnesses are not inherited directly, but the tendency to develop them may be inherited .

As mentioned earlier, mental illnesses are conditioned by many factors, and in fact, various factors influence the risk of their occurrence. Ultimately, people whose relatives have some mental illness may be more prone to developing a mental disorder, e.g. as a result of experiencing severe stress.

Ultimately, it is not clear that the children of a person with mental disorders will also suffer from it themselves. They have an increased risk, so you should carefully monitor their condition and if they develop any unusual ailments, go to mental he alth specialists as soon as possible.

About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

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Category:

Psychiatry