Objective
Gender differences, including younger age of onset and greater premorbid deficits in men, have been reported in adult-onset schizophrenia (AOS). This study comprehensively evaluated gender differences in childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS), a rare variant of the disorder.
Method
We examined demographic, premorbid, clinical, familial, and cognitive characteristics, as well as presence of chromosomal abnormalities and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cortical volumes, in 133 patients with COS. Cortical analyses included age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers (n=124).
Results
Males with COS (n=72) had a slight but significant earlier age of onset than females with COS (mean age 9.51± 2.28 vs. 10.29 ± 1.63, t[131] = 2.21, p = .03), higher verbal IQ scores (83.00 ± 15.97 vs. 75.58 ± 15.10, t[89] = 2.24, p = .03), and higher rates of comorbid pervasive developmental disorder (PDD; 28.17% vs. 6.90%, χ2[1] = 9.54, p < .01) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; 43.86% vs. 21.43%, χ2[1] = 5.40, p = .02). There were no significant gender differences across other demographic, IQ, or clinical measures, frequency of chromosomal abnormalities, family clinical measures, premorbid functioning, or in gender by disorder interactions for MRI brain measures.
Conclusion
After a comprehensive examination, we found few remarkable gender differences in COS. Although less striking than that seen in AOS, males with COS had an earlier age of onset. ADHD and PDD rates were high in COS overall, suggesting greater neurodevelopmental vulnerability in COS. However, the gender ratios of these comorbidities in COS mirror those of the general populations, indicating that these gender differences may be unrelated to COS.