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Psychopathological syndromes and familial morbid risk of psychosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Jim Van Os ,
Machteld Marcelis ,
Pak Sham ,
Peter Jones ,
Karyna Gilvarry  and
Robin Murray
Jim Van Os*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, University of Maastricht, European Graduate School of Neuroscience, The Netherlands
Machteld Marcelis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Pak Sham
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Peter Jones
Affiliation:
Mapperley Hospital, Nottingham
Karyna Gilvarry
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Robin Murray
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
Dr Jim Van Os, University of Maastricht, PO BOX 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Abstract

Background

Familial liability in the functional psychoses had traditionally been examined by comparing mutually exclusive diagnostic categories. This study examines overlapping psychopathological dimensions in relation to familial morbid risk of psychosis.

Method

We tested for associations between seven factor-analysis derived psychopathological dimensions and familial morbid risk of psychosis, in a sample of 150 patients with recent-onset functional psychosis and 548 of their first-degree relatives.

Results

A syndrome characterised by affective blunting and insidious and early onset of illness, non-specifically predicted psychosis in the first-degree relatives, whereas a manic syndrome specifically predicted affective psychosis in the relatives. No other main effects were observed, but there were interactions with proband diagnosis: a syndrome characterised by bizarre behaviour, inappropriate affect, catatonia and poor rapport predicted psychosis in relatives of schizophrenic probands, and a syndrome of depressive: symptoms predicted psychosis in relatives of schizoaffective probands. Positive symptoms were not associated with illness in the relatives.

Conclusions

Genetic effects in the functional psychoses may comprise non-specific components that canalise a general, early-onset, affective blunting phenotype and several other, more specific, influences on phenotypic variation.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 170 , Issue 3 , March 1997 , pp. 241 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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