This article explores the nature of psychiatric genetics research conducted in asylums in Western Europe in the mid-19th century through an examination of four studies published 1841 to 1864 from Great Britain, France, and Germany. They all utilize asylum records to determine if patients had a hereditary predisposition (HP) to mental illness. A diverse range of topics were investigated, with most attention on whether men or women are more likely to transmit, or are more sensitive to the receipt of, an HP. When significant sex effects were seen, they consistently found women to be more likely to transmit and/or more sensitive to the receipt of an HP. Other questions explored included: (a) the relationship between an HP and recurrence rates; (b) the degree of homogeneity versus heterogeneity of transmission of specific mental illnesses in families; (c) the level of HP among different forms of mental illness; and (d) differences in the proportion of psychiatric patients with an HP as a function of their religion. While the method of assessment of familial/genetic risk was relatively crude, even at this early stage in the history of psychiatric genetics, investigators were asking thoughtful questions about the nature and clinical impact of that risk.

中文翻译：

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从 19 世纪中叶西欧的庇护记录研究看遗传对精神错乱的影响

本文通过对 1841 年至 1864 年英国、法国和德国发表的四项研究的研究，探讨了 19 世纪中叶在西欧精神病院进行的精神病学遗传学研究的性质。他们都利用庇护记录来确定患者是否具有精神疾病的遗传倾向 (HP)。调查了各种各样的主题，最关注的是男性或女性是否更有可能传播或对接收 HP 更敏感。当看到显着的性影响时，他们一致发现女性更有可能传播和/或对接收 HP 更敏感。探讨的其他问题包括：（a）HP 与复发率之间的关系；(b) 特定精神疾病在家庭中传播的同质性与异质性程度；(c) 不同形式精神疾病的 HP 水平；(d) 患有 HP 的精神病患者的比例因宗教而异。虽然评估家族/遗传风险的方法相对粗糙，但即使在精神遗传学历史的早期阶段，研究人员也在就该风险的性质和临床影响提出深思熟虑的问题。