Are mental illnesses hereditary?

Mental illnesses are not inherited, although many people fear that. We do not have a comprehensive knowledge of the genetics of all mental illnesses. Some inherited predisposition to react to stress in a certain definite way has only been reported. In the case of schizophrenia, there is a greater risk in a family where the disease already exists. The risk is assessed on a 5 – 15 times higher than in the general population. . Similarly, the risk of falling ill for the monozygotic twin of the sick person is 48%. A similar risk exists in the case of a child of both ill parents – 46%, but when one of the parents is ill, it is only 17%.