Gene-environment interactions and correlations in psychiatric disorders.

Genetic and environmental risk factors are known to influence many aspects of human behavior, including the susceptibility to various psychiatric conditions in adult and childhood. Recent evidence suggests that these risk factors interact and correlate with each other to influence phenotypic outcomes. Gene-environment interactions are expressed through genetic variation in the susceptibility toward particular environmental risks, whereas gene-environment correlations are genetically mediated propensities in the exposure toward certain environments. Recent findings from quantitative and molecular methodologic approaches have highlighted their prevalence and importance across several samples and phenotypic outcomes. These have important implications in guiding future psychiatric research, mental health practice, and policy-making bodies.