Prenatal exposure to famine and brain morphology in schizophrenia

Objective: The authors assessed the effects of nutritional deficiency durin g the first trimester of pregnancy on brain morphology in patients with sch izophrenia. Method: Nine schizophrenic patients and nine healthy comparison subjects ex posed during the first trimester of gestation to the Dutch Hunger Winter we re evaluated with magnetic resonance brain imaging, as were nine schizophre nic patients and nine healthy subjects who were not prenatally exposed to t he famine. Results: Prenatal famine exposure in patients with schizophrenia was associ ated with decreased intracranial volume. Prenatal Hunger Winter exposure al one was related to an increase in brain abnormalities, predominantly white matter hyperintensities. Conclusions: Nutritional deficiency during the first trimester of gestation resulted in an increase in clinical brain abnormalities and was associated with aberrant early brain development in patients with schizophrenia. Stun ted brain development secondary to factors that affect brain growth during the first trimester of gestation may thus be a potential risk factor for de veloping schizophrenia.