title: Genetic models of sex effect in unipolar affective illness.
abstract: Family study data on unipolar affective illness are analyzed by multiple threshold models of inheritance that incorporate sex effect. In these models males and females share a common genetic-environmental liability, but the less prevalent sex, i.e., males, has a higher genetic threshold for the disorder. Neither single major locus (SML) nor multifactorial-polygenic (MFP) transmission can account for the sex differences in the morbid risk for unipolar disorder. The implications for genetic research in affective disorders are discussed.
mesh_terms: D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000235:genetics*; D012306:Risk; D012723:Sex; D012729:Sex Chromosome Aberrations / Q000235:genetics