Depressive Disease: Familial Psychiatric Illness
JOE DORZAB M.D.1,
MAX BAKER M.D.2,
REMI J. CADORET M.D.3, , and
GEORGE WINOKUR M.D.4
1 Chief Resident in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4940 Audubon Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63110
2 Clinical Associate, Section on Psychiatry, Laboratory of Clinical Science, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md.
3 Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4940 Audubon Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63110
4 Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4940 Audubon Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63110
Data from families of 100 intensively studied patients with depressive disease (unipolar affective disorder) and a review of the literature suggest that genetic factors play a role in the etiology of depressive disease. It is also possible that this disease may in fact be a heterogeneous group of illnesses with different manifestations, for example, in males and females. The authors stress the need for further studies to test their hypothesis.
