Psychiatric Morbidity in the First-Degree Relatives of Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract

First-degree relatives (FDRs) of 1018 schizophrenic and 812 control probands were investigated. Psychiatric morbidity was present in 34.8% of FDRs of schizophrenic probands and in 9.2% of FDRs of controls. There was significantly more psychiatric illness in the siblings and parents than in the offspring of both schizophrenic and control subjects. The morbidity risks for schizoid-schizotypal personality disorders, cannabis-use disorder and paranoid personality disorder were significantly higher in the FDRs of schizophrenic patients than in those of controls, suggesting a biological relationship.