No relationship between risk of schizophrenia and prenatal exposure to stress during the Six-Day War or Yom Kippur War in Israel.
OBJECTIVE
Maternal stress during pregnancy is a possible risk factor for schizophrenia in the offspring. Using data from the Israel Psychiatric Registry we examined the impact of wars in Israel.


METHODS
Retrospective birth cohort study.


RESULTS
Relative risks for cohorts exposed to Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War were 0.98 (95% CI: 0.85-1.13) and 1.00 (0.86-1.16).


CONCLUSIONS
The evidence for maternal stress as a risk factor for schizophrenia remains insufficient.
Selten
Jean-Paul
JP
Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center, P.O. Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, Ref. Nr A00.241, The Netherlands. j.p.selten@psych.azu.nl
Cantor-Graae
Elizabeth
E
Nahon
Daniella
D
Levav
Itzhak
I
Aleman
André
A
Kahn
René S
RS
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006693:Holidays; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*