Prenatal and perinatal risk factors for schizophrenia, affective psychosis, and reactive psychosis of early onset: case-control study
Problems during pregnancy and the birth process are risk factors for the development of schizophrenia in young men, says a study in this week's BMJ. Christina Hultman from the University of Uppsala, Sweden, and colleagues from Europe and Japan show that bleeding during pregnancy, multiparity [where the mother has had at least three previous births] and small size for gestational age are associated with the development of early onset schizophrenia.
The authors suggest that reduced placental function may subtly impair foetal brain development leaving the individual more vulnerable to later schizophrenia. Dr Hultman and colleagues found only a weak link between these problems in pregnancy and affective and reactive psychosis in both sexes. They conclude that if there is a relationship with these two conditions it is much weaker than with schizophrenia.
Contact:
Dr Christina M Hultman, Research Fellow, Department of Neuroscience, University of Uppsala, Sweden christina.hultman@ullpsyk.uu.se