The association of 5-HTTLPR and Val66Met BDNF genotypes with symptoms of anxiety and depression related to stress caused by severe chronic psychiatric disease of a family member has been studied. Genotyping has been conducted in the group of 214 unaffected parents of patients with schizophrenia and 100 healthy age-matched controls. The diplotype Met*ss was associated with higher scores of depressive symptoms as assessed by MMPI in the group of parents but not in the control group. The most marked differences were seen in the subgroup of parents whose children had the greatest severity of symptoms. The results suggest that the interaction of 5-HTT and BDNF genes may moderate the association between objective and subjective burden of disease.