Research and exploration of genomics applied to mental disorders

Researchers from the University of British Columbia, Key Laboratory of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and others engaged in exploratory research in genomics and clinical applications to investigate the perception of disease severity in schizophrenia patients and their non-affected first-degree relatives. , the attribution of illness, concerns about the degree of illness, and the impact of illness on family planning. This research has been published online in the journal SchizoPHrenia Research.

Genomics has undoubtedly made a big step forward in human understanding of the biological mechanisms of schizophrenia. The application of research findings in the field of schizophrenia to the clinic depends not only on the knowledge of patients and their families about schizophrenia, but also on their understanding of psychiatrists and psychologists. However, genomics understanding of schizophrenia is still not directly applied to the clinical application of schizophrenia patients and their families.

The research team led by Professor Chen Chuqiao from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Key Laboratory of Mental Health collaborated with Dr. Jehannie Austin and Prof. Bill Honer from the University of British Columbia in Canada to conduct an exploratory study of fusion genomics and clinical applications to further explore this issue. This study investigated the schizophrenia patients and their unaffected first-degree relatives' views on the severity of the disease, the attribution of the disease, the degree of concern about their illness, and the impact of the disease on family planning.

The survey was conducted in Canada and China, respectively. The findings were the same. It was found that fewer Chinese patients and their relatives thought that schizophrenia was a very serious disease, 33%. Canadian schizophrenia patients and their relatives generally believed that The disease is a very serious disease, 67%. There are also differences between the two groups in the attribution of schizophrenia, 52% of Chinese respondents attributed the etiology of schizophrenia to environmental factors only, and 9% of respondents attributed the etiology to the separate effects of genetic factors. . Relatively fewer first-degree relatives of Chinese schizophrenia patients are concerned that they or their other family members will also suffer from 21% of the illness. This concern is generally 28% among patients' first-degree relatives such as parents or brothers and sisters. In addition, the study also found that 31% of Chinese respondents and 45% of Canadian respondents believe that the schizophrenia disease affects family planning decisions.

The study showed that compared with North American respondents, Chinese respondents showed less concern about the development of patients with schizophrenia. At the same time, more Chinese respondents attributed the disease to environmental factors. These results are consistent with the current status of knowledge of the lack of biomedical models in China. The inadequacy of medical insurance or the lack of financial input may be the biggest obstacle to the treatment of schizophrenic patients in China. If this obstacle can be resolved, people will realize that the patients, the relatives of the patients, and the medical professionals are responsible for the causes of schizophrenia. There is a difference in understanding, which will encourage patients to seek medical care. For patients and relatives who do not understand the biomedical model, the prevalence of schizophrenia can help clinicians and psychologists working in mental health work smoothly.

Evidence-based schizophrenia etiology models believe that genetic factors that involve individual differences lead to different risk factors, and environmental factors may promote changes in the development of different stages of the disease. This shows that long-term psychiatry and psychotherapy, including medicine and psychology Social intervention is a must. Primary health workers, clinicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists are better trained to provide systemic medical services, while raising the awareness of patients and their relatives about the cause of the disease is very effective in improving the efficacy of Chinese patients with schizophrenia. important.