Association of schizophrenia with low maternal body mass index, small sizeat birth, and thinness during childhood

Background: Nutritional factors in early life may contribute to the neurode velopmental deficit in schizophrenia. This study explores the influence of maternal body size, size at birth, and childhood growth on future risk for schizophrenia. Subjects and Methods: This population-based cohort study comprised births a t Helsinki University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, from 1924 to 1 933. Prospective data from birth and school health records of 7086 individu als were collected and linked to the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Results: Schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder had been diagnosed in 11 4 individuals. A lower late-pregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI) increa sed the risk (odds ratio [OR], 1.09 per kilogram/meter(2); 95% confidence i nterval [CI], 1.02-1.17) for schizophrenia among the offspring, The risk of schizophrenia increased with low birth weight (OR, 1.48 per kilogram; 95% CI, 1.03-2.13), shortness at birth (OR, 1.12 per centimeter; 95% CI, 1.03-1 .22), and low placental weight (OR, 1.22 per 100 g; 95% CI, 1.04-1.43), Sch izophrenia cases were thinner than comparison subjects from 7 to 15 years o f age. In a joint model comprising late-pregnancy maternal BMI, body size a t birth, and childhood BMI, childhood BMI was an independent predictor of s chizophrenia, whereas other factors exhibited attenuated effects. Conclusion: Indicators of intrauterine and childhood undernutrition are ass ociated with an increased lifetime risk of schizophrenia.