Their inheritance patterns are usually much more complex than those of single gene disorders because their existence depends on the simultaneous presence of heredity and environmental factors. Other common disorders, including cancer and hypertension, are examples of health problems caused by the environment and heredity. Multifactorial disorders are very common and cause a majority of birth defects. Examples of multifactorial disorders include heart disease, diabetes, spina bifida, anencephaly, cleft lip and cleft palate, clubfoot and congenital heart defects. Genetic disorders can be inherited in much the same way a person can inherit other characteristics such as eye and hair color, height and intelligence.
Children inherit genetic or hereditary information by obtaining genes from each parent.
Dominant inheritance occurs when one parent has a dominant, disease-causing gene which causes abnormalities even if coupled with a healthy gene from the other parent. Dominant inheritance means that each child has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the disease-causing gene. An example of dominant inheritance associated with mental retardation is tuberous sclerosis. Recessive inheritance occurs when both parents carry a disease-causing gene but outwardly show no signs of disease. They show no symptoms of having a disease gene and remain unaware of having the gene until having an affected child.