Prenatal risk factors and schizophrenia.
This article highlights major research findings that indicate a relation between prenatal environmental factors and the risk of adult schizophrenia. Evidence suggests that schizophrenia may have its origins in early maldevelopment of the brain. However, the factors responsible for this devastating disorder remain unknown. While genes clearly play a causal role, there is likely an environmental contribution as well. We discuss the evidence for several candidate environmental exposures that occur during prenatal life and that may modify the risk for developing schizophrenia. The main challenge of this type of research, termed risk-factor epidemiology, is to generate and test such exposures in subjects with schizophrenia, in order to develop preventive strategies and better understand the mechanisms that lead to this illness.
Brown
Alan S
AS
Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians of Surgeons of Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 2, New York, NY 10032, USA. asb11@columbia.edu