There is a set of factors that are involved in the development of mental disorders, which cannot be considered in isolation: biology (including genetics and epigenetics), psychology, environment, context, living situation, personal history and social factors, are factors that influence the development and onset of disorders. All these factors interact: environmental parameters that can sometimes lead to disorders with biological consequences.
Is depression hereditary?
Depression is not an inherited disease, it is not transmitted. However, there is a predisposition to develop this disorder in people with genetic variants, most of which are still unknown today. This predisposing genetic component partly explains the familial cases. It is estimated that a person with one parent who has had MDS is 2 to 4 times more likely to be depressed than the general population.
Associated with this predisposition is an environmental “trigger” factor that is very often a situation of intense stress, such as the death of a loved one, a break-up in love, or a situation of social exclusion, such as a job loss.
Depression is often characterized by multiple, spaced major depressive episodes. The risk of relapse after a first EDM was estimated at 60%, and reached 90% after the third episode.
