title: Increased risk of suicide in schizophrenia patients with linkage to chromosome 13q.
abstract: We link schizophrenia in families from the genetically isolated South African Afrikaner population to chromosome 13q (n =51), 1p (n =23) and combined 13q & 1p (n =18). Patients with linkages to chromosome 13q were 4.16 times more likely to meet diagnostic criteria for schizoaffective disorder compared to patients with linkage to 1p. A third of patients with linkage to both 13q &1p met diagnostic criteria for SAD. There was a significant positive relationship between suicidality and a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. Identifying linkage to chromosome 13q may be informative in identifying suicide risk early and prevent morbidity and mortality in schizophrenia patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Electronic address: pierre@drpjmalherbe.com.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Malherbe
authors.affiliation: Neurogenetics Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Columbia, New York.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karayiorgou
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ehlers
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Roos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002882:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 13; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012306:Risk; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Linkage to chromosome 13q; Schizoaffective disorder; Suicide