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Schizophrenia and birth order in Pakistan
K G Bender1, N Azeem, J Morrice
1Psychiatrist, Inner City Mental Health Service, Royal Perth Hospital, Box X2213 GPO, 6847, Western Australia, Perth, Australia. keith.bender@rph.health.wa.gov.au
Schizophrenia Research
|July 29, 2000
Summary
This study found that first-born children are significantly more likely to develop schizophrenia. This birth order effect was observed even in older patients, suggesting a potential link between birth position and schizophrenia risk.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Birth order has been studied as a potential risk factor for schizophrenia.
- Previous studies in Western populations have yielded mixed results regarding birth order and schizophrenia.
- Understanding demographic factors associated with schizophrenia is crucial for public health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between birth order and schizophrenia in a non-Western population.
- To determine if first-born status is over-represented in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.
- To compare findings with existing literature on schizophrenia and birth order.
Main Methods:
- Stage I: Compared birth orders of 453 adult psychiatric patients across various diagnoses.
- Stage II: Utilized a goodness-of-fit chi-square test on 64 schizophrenia patients (DSM-III-R).
- Controlled for sibship size and analyzed age subgroups (30 and above).
Main Results:
- Patients with schizophrenia had significantly higher average birth positions than other diagnostic groups.
- A significant over-representation of first-born siblings was found in schizophrenia patients of both sexes.
- This excess of first-born individuals persisted even when analyzing patients aged 30 and above.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest a significant association between being first-born and schizophrenia in this population.
- These results contrast with previous birth order studies of schizophrenia in Western countries.
- The authors propose that these findings are unlikely due to study biases and warrant further community-based research.