Schizophrenia and offspring's risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes and infant death

Women with schizophrenia are at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes. It is not known whether offspring born to fathers with schizophrenia also have an increased risk.

To evaluate paternal and maternal influences on the association between schizophrenia and pregnancy outcomes.

A record linkage including 2 million births was made using Swedish population-based registers. The risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes was evaluated through logistic regression.

Offspring with a mother or father with schizophrenia faced a doubled risk of infant mortality, which could not be explained by maternal behaviour alone during pregnancy. Excess infant death risk was largely attributable to post-neonatal death. Maternal factors (e.g. smoking) explained most of the other risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes among both mothers and fathers with schizophrenia.

The risks to offspring whose fathers had schizophrenia suggest that, in addition to maternal risk behaviour, non-optimal social and/or parenting circumstances are of importance.