title: Urban social stress--risk factor for mental disorders. The case of schizophrenia.
abstract: Living in an urban environment is associated with an increased prevalence of specific mental health disorders, particularly schizophrenia. While many factors have been discussed as possible mediators of this association, most researchers favour the hypothesis that urban living stands as a proxy for an increased exposure to social stress. This factor has been recognized as one of the most powerful causes for the development of mental disorders, and appears to correlate with the markedly increased incidence of schizophrenia in urban minority groups. However, the hypothesis that the general urban population is exposed to increased levels of social stress has to be validated. Pursuing the goal of understanding how social stress acts as a risk factor for mental disorder in urban populations must include factors like social conditions, environmental pollutants, infrastructure and economic issues.
authors.affiliation: Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany. Electronic address: florian.lederbogen@zi-mannheim.de.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lederbogen
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer-Lindenberg
mesh_terms: D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012924:Social Conditions; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Mental disorder; Schizophrenia; Stress; Urban