title: Specificity of familial transmission of schizophrenia psychosis spectrum and affective psychoses in the New England family study's high-risk design.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a long history of research on the familial transmission of schizophrenia and other psychoses. However, few studies have investigated the specificity of the transmission of schizophrenia-psychosis spectrum (SPS) disorders and affective psychoses (APs) or observed high-risk offspring into mid-adulthood.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the transmission of psychoses from parents to their offspring and the specificity of transmission across psychosis subtypes.
  
  
  METHODS
  High-risk follow-up study.
  
  
  METHODS
  New England Family Study's High-Risk Study, with population-based community sampling from Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 203 high-risk offspring of 159 parents with diagnoses of psychoses (SPS and AP) and 147 control offspring of 114 control parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematically assessed research DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses for adult offspring.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with those of control parents, offspring of parents with SPS had a significant, almost 6-fold elevated risk of SPS disorders and a nonsignificant doubling of risk for AP. Offspring of parents with AP had a significant 14-fold elevated risk for AP compared with offspring of controls; for SPS disorders, the risk doubled but was not significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Having a parent with psychosis significantly increased the risk for psychosis among offspring and demonstrated specificity for the transmission of SPS disorders and APs within families.
authors.affiliation: Division of Women's Health, Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women's Health & Gender Biology, and Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02120, USA. jill_goldstein@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Jill M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Buka
authors.forename: Larry J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Seidman
authors.forename: Ming T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Tsuang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000341:Affective Disorders, Psychotic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D001900:Boston; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D012237:Rhode Island; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult