A Genetic Risk Adoption Design for Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders

In an adoption study of major psychiatric illness, what results would be obtained if offspring risk were predicted not from the phenotype of the parents but from their genetic risk?In this cohort study, paternal genetic risk was associated with offspring risk of illness for all disorders in genetically related father-offspring pairs. In an indirect pathway, genetic risk in adoptive and stepfathers predicted risk in their offspring for internalizing and substance use disorders but not for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.Indirect genetic effects from the father may have an impact on offspring risk of internalizing and substance use disorders.

Corresponding Author: Kenneth S. Kendler, MD, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 980126, Richmond, VA 23298-0126 (kenneth.kendler@vcuhealth.org).

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