Obstetric conditions and risk of first admission with schizophrenia: a Danish national register based study

Schizophr Res. 2007 Dec;97(1-3):51-9. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2007.07.018. Epub 2007 Aug 31.

Abstract

A range of complications of pregnancy, abnormal fetal growth and development, and complications of delivery have been associated with increased risk of schizophrenia. Few studies have been able to adjust for a broad range of potential confounding factors. A national population nested case-control study based on Danish longitudinal registers was conducted to investigate the risk of schizophrenia associated with exposure to a range of obstetric events. The sample included 1039 first admissions to, or contacts with Danish psychiatric services with an ICD-8 or ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia and 24, 826 individually matched controls. Adjusting for the other obstetric factors, family psychiatric history, and socio-economic and demographic factors, risk of schizophrenia was associated with maternal non-attendance at antenatal appointments (Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) 2.08, 95% CI: 1.0, 4.4), gestational age of 37 weeks or below (IRR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.0, 2.2), maternal influenza (IRR 8.2, 95% CI: 1.4, 48.8), preeclampsia (IRR 2.72, 95% CI: 1.0, 7.3), threatened premature delivery (IRR 2.39, 95% CI: 1.4, 4.1), haemorrhage during delivery (IRR 2.43, 95% CI: 1.1, 5.6), manual extraction of the baby (IRR 2.15, 95% CI: 1.1, 4.4), and maternal sepsis of childbirth and the puerperium (IRR 2.91, 95% CI: 1.1, 7.9). There was no significant interaction between the obstetric factors and either sex or family psychiatric history. The data suggest a modest association between prematurity, indicators of hypoxia, maternal infections, and maternal behaviours and risk of the later development of schizophrenia after adjusting for a number of possible confounding factors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Asphyxia Neonatorum / diagnosis
  • Asphyxia Neonatorum / epidemiology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Denmark
  • Female
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease / genetics
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant, Premature, Diseases / diagnosis
  • Infant, Premature, Diseases / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Obstetric Labor Complications / epidemiology*
  • Patient Admission / statistics & numerical data*
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications / epidemiology*
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects*
  • Registries
  • Risk Factors
  • Schizophrenia / epidemiology*
  • Schizophrenia / etiology
  • Schizophrenia / genetics
  • Statistics as Topic