mehrfaktorielle

Mehrfaktorielle is a German adjective used to describe phenomena, traits, or conditions that arise from the combined influence of multiple factors. In scientific use, it signifies that no single gene or cause fully explains the outcome; instead genetic predisposition interacts with environmental, lifestyle, or other factors to determine whether and how a trait is expressed.

In genetics and medicine, the term is closely associated with multifactorial inheritance and multifactorial diseases. Mehrfaktorielle Vererbung refers to inheritance patterns in which many genes contribute small effects, often in combination with environmental influences, leading to continuous or complex phenotypes rather than simple Mendelian traits. In clinical contexts, mehrfaktorielle Erkrankungen describe complex diseases such as coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and many autoimmune or psychiatric conditions. These diseases typically show varying degrees of risk that cannot be attributed to a single cause, and their expression depends on interactions between genetic susceptibility and factors like diet, activity level, and exposure to risk factors.

The concept is complemented by population genetics and epidemiology, where polygenic risk scores and epidemiological data are used to estimate an individual’s risk. Although multifactorial traits are influenced by many determinants, they do not preclude identifiable genetic contributions; instead they reflect a spectrum of risk shaped by multiple interacting elements. The term is widely used in German-language literature and is equivalent to the English term multifactorial.