Fetal Growth Restriction and Schizophrenia: A Swedish Twin Study

Analysis of risk factors for schizophrenia with two different case definitions: A nationwide register-based external validation study

“…For the other well-established risk factors, we observed practically no dilution of the effects when comparing the OCO and TMC definitions. The observations for low birth weight and short gestational age corroborate a large body of existing evidence suggesting that suboptimal prenatal growth and postnatal growth predict risk of schizophrenia (Wahlbeck et al, 2001;Nilsson et al, 2005;Byrne et al, 2007;Nielsen et al, 2013). Choice of case definition also had little impact on our findings that a high (N 4) birth order, or a low parental education was associated with increased risk.…”

Fractal-dimension analysis detects cerebral changes in preterm infants with and without intrauterine growth restriction

“…Particularly, the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder has been associated with a significant cortical thinning in regions important for attention control and executive functions (Makris et al, 2007). Notably, several studies have described difficulties related to schizophrenia (Nilsson et al, 2005), attention deficiency (Strang-Karlsson et al, 2008;Geva et al, 2006a,b), and executive functioning (Leitner et al, 2007) in IUGR children. In addition, significant reductions in the frontal lobe volume (Benavides-Serralde et al, 2009) and cortical folding (Dubois et al, 2008) have been described in perinatal studies on IUGR patients.…”

The aetiology of schizophrenia: what have the Swedish Medical Registers taught us?

“…A small head circumference, which is also likely to reflect poor foetal growth and low birth weight, was also found to be a significant factor in one study (less than or equal to 31.5 cm; OR 1.61, 95 % CI 1.03-2.5) [7]. Preeclampsia, which can be a sign of foetal malnutrition, was also found to significantly increase the risk of later schizophrenia by an odds ratio of 2.1 (95 % CI: 1.1-4.1) [11].…”

“…cross-sectional surveys or the Swedish High Risk Project [7]. Studies that reported on re-admissions or relapses for schizophrenia or other psychiatric disorders.…”

“…No significant methodological concerns were flagged regarding any of these studies. Children born pre-term (before week 36: which is statistically associated with low birth weight) were found to have a significantly higher risk of developing schizophrenia in a number of studies [OR: 1.68, 95 % CI: (1.05-2.69)] [7]; (HR: 2.5, 95 % CI: 1.00-6.00: 32-36 weeks) [10]. However, the authors of the latter study noted this result may reflect a general psychiatric vulnerability, rather than one specific to schizophrenia, since preterm birth was also associated with increased risks for bipolar disorder, eating disorders and substance misuse.…”