Is Trichotillomania hereditary?

Here you can see if Trichotillomania can be hereditary. Do you have any genetic components? Does any member of your family have Trichotillomania or may be more predisposed to developing the condition?

Posted Aug 10, 2017 by Katlyn 1400

Some articles say it's hereditary, but I don't know as I'm the only one in my family to have it or have ever had it.

Posted Aug 10, 2017 by Lucyeleanor2601 2620

No definite answers here, but it has been linked to family histories of mental illness. I have this in my family, though no other family members have had trich, to my knowledge.

Posted Aug 10, 2017 by Shirley 2150

I have read that trich is possibly hereditary, and being that my mother has trich, I tend to believe that is true. I have also read that it may be linked to a gene that is related to Tourette's Syndrome as well.

Posted Aug 10, 2017 by Kristin 150

Whether it is hereditary or not is yet unknown, however there is sufficient occurrences of family members with the condition to remain open to the possibility. Children with afflicted parents can be incredibly impressionable and may pick up on the behavior themselves.

Posted Aug 10, 2017 by Ellen 2161

Not for me, no. No one in my family has suffered the disease before.

Posted Aug 12, 2017 by Catswithtatts 1650

I don't think enough studies have been conducted to answer that question conclusively. People may or may not have family members with trich. It just depends right now. My personal opinion is that I believe it can be learned by children if a parent pulls, but I think the child has to have some level of predisposition for it in some way still.

Posted Sep 10, 2017 by Cynthia 1502

possibly but that is unknown. Trichotillomania(TTM)Awareness and other Facebook groups were created to help encourage others suffering the same.

Posted Oct 19, 2017 by Felicia@Face2FaceSpa 2000

We don't know. There is likely no genetic component, but it is possible that trichotillomania can be inherited behaviourally, through learned behaviour of parents.

Posted Oct 20, 2017 by Sari 2050

Lots of research is pointing to trich being hereditary, moreso under the body-focused repetitive behaviour umbrella. For instance, my father is a nail biter, maternal aunt a scalp scratcher, maternal cousins are serious nail biters, etc.

Posted Oct 20, 2017 by bennersk 2190

Possibly. There is much still unkown about causes of trichotillomania.

Posted Dec 16, 2017 by Adrienne 300

No, it is not generic at all.

Posted Dec 17, 2017 by Hannah 1000

Some say so: my parents don't have any symptoms that can be compared to mine, tough.

Posted Dec 27, 2017 by Lagartija 300

A study suggests mutations in a gene called SLITKR1 may play a role in the development of trichotillomania in some families. The mental disorder causes people to compulsively pull their hair out, resulting in noticeable hair losshair loss and bald spots.

Researcher Stephan Züchner, MD, of the Duke Center for Human Genetics, says genetic mutations only account for a small fraction of trichotillomania cases, but the findings may help lead to a better understanding of the unusual disorder.
In the study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers studied 44 families in which one or more members had trichotillomania.

They focused on the gene SLITRK1 because a previous study had linked it to Tourette's syndrome, a related impulse-control disorder.

The study showed two mutations in this gene were found among family members with trichotillamania, but not in unaffected family members.

Posted Jan 27, 2018 by Vee 2770

Depending on the incident, it is possible it can be hereditary, but it is not always.

Posted May 25, 2018 by natasha 400