Twins discordant for schizophrenia: psychopathology of the non-schizophrenic co-twins

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Patients with schizophrenia are more likely to suffer from mood and anxiety disorders compared with the general population. We explored the aetiology of this comorbidity using a twin study design. METHOD: We applied an additive genetic + unique environment (AE) random effects model in the analysis of 35 non-schizophrenic co-twins from pairs discordant for schizophrenia, and 131 control twins. RESULTS: Non-schizophrenic co-twins had significantly increased rates of depression (P = 0.006) and anxiety disorders (P = 0.021) compared with the control twins. CONCLUSION: Our results provide evidence for a familial association between schizophrenia and anxiety and depression. This could r..