Prenatal exposure to influenza as a risk factor for adult schizophrenia

• Published in: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica 2003-05, Vol.107 (5), p.331-335
• Main Authors: Limosin, F., Rouillon, F., Payan, C., Cohen, J-M., Strub, N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Female; France - epidemiology; Humans; influenza; Influenza, Human - complications; Influenza, Human - epidemiology; intrauterine exposure; Male; Maternal Exposure; Medical sciences; mental disorders; Middle Aged; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - virology; Pregnancy Trimester, Second; prenatal experience; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; risk factor; Risk Factors; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - epidemiology; Schizophrenia - virology; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0001-690X; 1600-0447
• DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00052.x

Objective:  Several, but not all epidemiological studies, have demonstrated a positive correlation between exposure to the virus during the second trimester of pregnancy and an increased risk to the infants for subsequently developing schizophrenia. The present study is the first be designed in France to examine the risk of gestational exposure to the influenza virus and subsequent development of schizophrenia. Method:  A total of 974 adults with schizophrenia born between 1949 and 1981 were compared for risk of exposure to influenza with their non‐schizophrenic siblings and with matched control patients. Results:  Significantly more schizophrenic subjects than controls (both groups) had been exposed to the influenza virus during the fifth month of pregnancy (OR=2.24, CI: 1.49–3.35, and OR=1.61, CI: 1.04–2.49). Conclusion:  These results suggest that influenza infection during pregnancy is a neurodevelopmental risk factor for schizophrenia in adult life.