title: [Causes of serious mental disorders].
abstract: It is accepted that both genetic and environmental factors are important in the genesis of schizophrenic disorders, but we have little understanding how they interact to produce the illness in a given individual. The position with regard to severe affective disorders is somewhat different, since bipolar disorders seem to have a comparatively high genetic loading as against a greater influence of environmental factors in unipolar disorders. Recent research shows a significant overlap between schizophrenic and affective disorders, both for symptoms in individual cases and for family incidence of the disorders. One way of achieving better understanding of the interaction of genes and environment in the two sets of disorders is to study samples of twins and of adoptees. In such studies the chances of successful results are increased by investigating samples that are as large as possible and contain a broad spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses.
authors.affiliation: Psykiatrisk klinikk, Vinderen, Oslo.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kringlen
mesh_terms: D000300:Adoption; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D014427:Twins
vernacular_title: Arsaker til alvorlige psykiske lidelser.