SCHIZOPHRENIA AFTER PRENATAL FAMINE - FURTHER EVIDENCE

Background: Suggestive findings of an earlier study that prenatal nutr itional deficiency was a determinant of schizophrenia prompted us to u ndertake a second test of the hypothesis using more precise data on bo th exposure and outcome.Methods: Among persons born in the cities of w estern Netherlands during 1944 through 1946, we compared the risk for schizophrenia in those exposed and unexposed during early gestation to the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944/1945. The frequency of hospitalized p atients with schizophrenia at age 24 to 48 years in the exposed and un exposed birth cohorts was ascertained from a national psychiatric regi stry. Results: The most exposed birth cohort, conceived at the height of the famine, showed a twofold and statistically significant increase in the risk for schizophrenia (relative risk [RR] = 2.0; 95% confiden ce interval [CI] = 1.2 to 3.4; P<.01) in both men (RR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.0 to 3.7, P=.05) and women (RR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.0 to 4.7; P=.04). A mong all birth cohorts of 1944 through 1946, the risk for schizophreni a clearly peaked in this exposed cohort. Conclusion: Prenatal nutritio nal deficiency may play a role in the origin of some cases of schizoph renia.