Schizophrenia may occur in families, which means a high risk of developing schizophrenia may be passed down from parents to children. If there is no family history of schizophrenia, the risk of developing it is less than 1%. Therefore, an individual’s risk increases if a parent or sibling has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Genes may be one of the most significant risk factors for schizophrenia. This condition often runs in families. If you have a sibling, parent, or other close relative with this condition, your likelihood of developing it may be increased. Researchers do not believe that a single gene causes this disorder. Instead, they doubt that multiple gene combinations could make a person more recognisable. Other factors, such as stressors, may be necessary to trigger the disorder in individuals at increased risk. Twin studies may have demonstrated that genes play a significant role, but they are not the only distinguishing factor.
If both identical twin siblings have schizophrenia, the other twin has a 1 in 2 risk of developing the disorder. This remains authentic even if the twin is reared separately. If a fraternal (nonidentical) twin has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, the other twin has a 1 in 8 chance of developing the disorder. Comparatively, the probability of disorder in the general population is 1 in 100.
