The empiric risk to a family member of an affected individual developing a disorder caused by a multifactorial trait
A) decreases with severity of the disorder.
B) increases with fewer affected family members.
C) decreases in larger families.
D) increases with increasing relatedness to affected individuals.
E) remains the same in a population.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The empiric risk to a family member of an affected individual developing a disorder caused by a multifactorial trait increases with increasing relatedness to affected individuals. This means that the risk is higher for an individual with affected first-degree relatives (parents, siblings, children) compared to an individual with affected second-degree relatives (grandparents, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews). Other factors that can increase the risk include the number of affected family members and the severity of the disorder, but these do not necessarily decrease the empiric risk. The risk can vary in different populations depending on the frequency of the predisposing genetic and environmental factors.

The Empiric Risk to a Family Member of an Affected