Obstetrical complications and childhood-onset schizophrenia

Objective: Increased obstetrical complications have been reported in indivi duals with adult-onset schizophrenia, with several studies finding an assoc iation between such complications and an earlier age at onset. Consequently , obstetrical records were examined for individuals with childhood-onset sc hizophrenia to determine if birth complications were more prevalent. Method : The birth records of 36 patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia and 3 5 sibling comparison subjects were rated for birth complications by two psy chiatrists who were unaware of group membership. Results: There were no sig nificant differences between the groups in rates of obstetrical complicatio ns. Patients with such complications did not have a relatively earlier age at onset of schizophrenia. Conclusions: A very early age at onset of schizo phrenia is probably not due to birth complications.