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[The problem of the relations between month of birth and psychic disorders (author's transl)]
Insights
Schizophrenia birth month patterns show significant deviations, with increased births in Nov-Jan and decreased in Feb-Mar/Aug-Sep. Affectpsychotics had fewer March births, while psychopaths showed no difference from controls.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Chronobiology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Month-of-birth distribution has been investigated for various psychiatric disorders.
- Previous studies suggest potential links between birth seasonality and mental health conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate month-of-birth frequency distributions in individuals diagnosed with Schizophrenia, Affectpsychotics, and Psychopaths.
- To compare these distributions with a large control group and historical data.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of birth month frequencies for 730 Schizophrenics, 730 Affectpsychotics, and 730 Psychopaths against 3,650 controls.
- Inclusion of historical data from Lang (1931) for further comparison.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients exhibited significant deviations, with higher birth frequencies in November, December, and January, and lower frequencies in February, March, August, and September.
- Affectpsychotic patients showed a significant decrease in March births.
- Psychopaths' birth month distribution closely matched that of the control group.
Conclusions:
- Seasonal birth patterns may play a role in the etiology of Schizophrenia and Affectpsychotic disorders.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the specific pathogenetic factors contributing to these observed seasonal variations.
- The findings warrant continued investigation into biological explanations for birth seasonality in mental illness.
Abstract:
Groups of 730 each Schizophrenics, Affectpsychotics, and Psychopaths of approximately the same age are compared with 3.650 controls according to their month-of-birth-frequency distribution. (Also included in the comparison are Schizophrenics, Manic-depressifs, Psychopaths, Hysterics as well as the siblings of the Manic-depressifs and Psychopaths of the study by Lang, 1931.) Schizophrenics show significant deviations in the total yearly distribution of birth as well as in 2 or 3 consecutive months - increased birth-frequency in November, December, January, decreased birth-frequency in February, March and in August, September. In the case of the Affectpsychotics only significant decreased birth-frequency can be detected for March. The month-of-birth-frequency distribution for Psychopaths is for the most part identical with that of the control group. The results are compared with the existing studies in this field of research, and possible biological explanations are discussed. Further research is necessary to identify the pathogenetic factors.