Maternal Infection During Pregnancy May Increase Risk of Schizophrenia in Offspring
There is mounting evidence from animal studies and epidemiological research that an infection during pregnancy may increase the risk of schizophrenia in the offspring. A recent study by Alan Brown and colleagues presented at the 2015 meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry used a large dataset from the Finnish Prenatal Study of Schizophrenia to compare medical data from the mothers of 777 people with schizophrenia (630 with schizophrenia and 147 with schizoaffective disorder) to data from the mothers of 777 healthy people.
The study’s biobank contained blood samples taken from the mothers in early to mid-pregnancy, which the researchers used to determine the mothers’ levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation. Higher levels of CRP were associated with increased risk of schizophrenia in the offspring. When the researchers analyzed the findings by sex of the offspring, the link between prenatal infection and schizophrenia risk was significant in males, but not females. The effect was also stronger among offspring born after their due date than those born at or before their due date.
