title: Lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia among individuals prenatally exposed to atomic bomb radiation in Nagasaki City.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between prenatal exposure to atomic bomb (A-bomb) radiation and the development of schizophrenia in adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia among people prenatally exposed to the 1945 Nagasaki A-bomb, using the schizophrenia register and the A-bomb survivors' database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 1867 prenatally exposed individuals, 18 subjects (0.96%) had developed schizophrenia later in life. The prevalence was significantly higher in people exposed in the second trimester of pregnancy than in those exposed in the third trimester. The closer they had been to the hypocentre, the higher was the prevalence, but no statistically significant linear relationship was seen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This investigation could not clarify the nature of exposure to A-bomb radiation as a risk factor for schizophrenia in the prenatal period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Nagasaki University, School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Imamura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakane
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kondo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009689:Nuclear Warfare; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D015995:Prevalence; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*