Is it true that schizophrenia can occur due to heredity?

There are many diseases that occur as a result of being genetically inherited. One that is being discussed is schizophrenia. Yes, some people think that schizophrenia occurs because of heredity, aka genetic. So, is this true? Check out the explanation below.

Schizophrenia can be hereditary, but not directly

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness that can affect a person's thought processes. Generally, schizophrenics cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality.

The cause of a mental illness that affects only 1% of the world's population and it's not clear why. However, there are several factors that may trigger this mental disorder, genetic factors being one of them.

Many people think that if a family member has schizophrenia, it is likely that their child or grandchild will also experience it.

However, as quoted from MedicineNet, Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD, states that schizophrenia can occur due to heredity, but not directly. There are psychological and environmental factors that also play a role in causing schizophrenia.

In addition, hereditary schizophrenia usually occurs in members who are closely related. However, the genetic pattern is not yet known with certainty.

Twins are more prone to schizophrenia due to genetic factors

In 2017, a Danish study of twins was conducted to see if schizophrenia could indeed decline due to genetic factors.

More than 30,000 twins born between 1951 and 2000 were studied up to June 1, 2011. Both identical and non-identical twins.

This is so that researchers can estimate how likely it is that heredity causes schizophrenia.

In that study, the investigators estimated that there was a 79% chance that schizophrenia would pass to twins.

In conclusion, heredity or genetics can indeed be one of the causes for someone to have schizophrenia.

However, if you have siblings who are quite distant and have schizophrenia, your risk of developing schizophrenia will be even lower.

Schizophrenia can occur even before birth

According to Dr. Dryden-Edwards, schizophrenia can also occur before a child is born. Environmental factors are the cause.

The risk of schizophrenia is usually greater in women who are pregnant at old age, are malnourished during pregnancy, or have an infection during pregnancy.

In addition, a difficult life, being emotionally abused, and having witnessed domestic violence can also make a person more vulnerable to the possibility of schizophrenia.

Therefore, environmental factors also play an important role as a cause of schizophrenia, apart from heredity.

Other contributing factors for schizophrenia

As reported by National Alliance on Mental Illness , apart from heredity and environment, schizophrenia can also occur due to several factors. Some of the causes that can put you at risk for schizophrenia include:

• Chemical compounds in the brain, namely serotonin and dopamine that are not balanced can trigger symptoms of schizophrenia.
• Different brain structures can also cause schizophrenia.
• The abuse of certain drugs and cigarettes during adolescence can affect mindsets from adolescence to adulthood.