PUBERTY AND THE ONSET OF PSYCHOSIS

According to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, matur ational events in the brain at puberty interact with congenital defect s to produce psychotic symptoms. As girls reach puberty at a younger a ge than boys, we predicted that (i) females would show earlier onset o f psychotic illness arising around puberty, and (ii) onset of psychosi s in females would be related to menarche. Analysis of epidemiological data regarding admission to psychiatric units in (a) England over the period 1973-1986, (b) France over the period 1975-1980, as well as ex amination of 97 psychotic adolescents referred to an adolescent unit o ver a 14 year period, supported both these propositions.