Multifactorial Inheritance Disorders

Multifactorial inheritance disorders are health conditions caused by a combination of multiple genes and environmental factors. Unlike single-gene disorders, where one defective gene leads to a specific condition, multifactorial disorders result from the interplay of several genes, each contributing a small effect, along with lifestyle, diet, and other environmental influences. Examples include heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. This complexity makes predicting the risk or occurrence of these disorders more challenging, as they can run in families but do not follow a clear inheritance pattern.