Family history could be tip off.

• Position: Mental Disease

We all have been asked at routine visits to the doctor to record our family's history with medical problems like cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. Yet, when it comes to mental disorders, usually mum's the word. However, findings by researchers at the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, Durham, N.C., make a strong case for changing that status quo, as 30 minutes or less of question-and-answer about the family history of depression, anxiety, or substance abuse is enough to predict a patient's approximate risks for developing each disorder and how severe their future illness is likely to be.

"There are lots of kids with behavior problems who may outgrow them on their own without medication, versus the minority with mental illnesses that need treatment," notes Terrie Moffitt, professor of psychology and neuroscience. "Family history is the quickest and cheapest way to sort that out."

Researchers who are on the hunt for the genes responsible for mental disorders should take advantage of this discovery, adds Avshalom Caspi, also a professor of psychology and neuroscience. "It suggests they may be better off selecting people with more serious illness or, better still, collecting family history information directly."

That mental illnesses tend to run in families certainly is no surprise. In fact, psychiatric conditions are some of the most heritable of all disorders, but the link between family history and the seriousness of psychiatric disease has been less certain. Family history could be used to identify those in need of early intervention or more aggressive treatment, the researchers note, although, if a few, simple questions could have that much value, why has family history been ignored for so long?

Moffitt indicates that health professionals have shied away from questioning...