Close relatives raise risk of schizophrenia eightfold
A meta-analysis has quantified the familial risk of schizophrenia for the first time
Patients who have a first-degree relative with schizophrenia are eight times more likely to develop the disorder compared with those with no family history, a meta-analysis shows.
Researchers from the Prince of Wales Clinical School at UNSW Sydney say their findings will improve the accuracy of risk communication to patients and could even inform a ‘vulnerability index’.
Their meta-analysis is the first to quantify the familial risk of schizophrenia, drawing on data from 19 cohort and case-control studies involving 4875 at-risk