Specificity of familial transmission of schizophrenia psychosis spectrum and affective psychoses in the New England family study's high-risk design.
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.
Goldstein
Jill M
JM
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
Buka
Stephen L
SL
Seidman
Larry J
LJ
Tsuang
Ming T
MT
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