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Fetal growth and schizophrenia: a nested case-control and case-sibling study
Philip Rising Nielsen1, Preben Bo Mortensen, Christina Dalman
1To whom correspondence should be addressed; National Centre for Register-Based Research, Aarhus University, Taasingegade 1, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; tel: +45-8716-5753, fax: +45-8716-4601,
Children born small for gestational age (SGA) have a modestly increased risk of developing schizophrenia. This association appears linked to factors related to low birth weight itself, not shared family influences.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Perinatal Medicine
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Low birth weight is a suspected risk factor for schizophrenia.
- Small for gestational age (SGA) serves as a proxy for intrauterine growth restriction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between SGA birth and schizophrenia risk.
- To determine if shared sibling factors mediate the SGA-schizophrenia link.
Main Methods:
- Linked Danish population-based registers (Medical Birth, Psychiatric, Civil Registration).
- Nested case-control and case-sibling study designs.
- Conditional logistic regression to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs).
Main Results:
- SGA was associated with an increased schizophrenia risk (IRR 1.23 in case-control).
- The case-sibling study showed a similar trend (IRR 1.28).
- The association appears independent of shared familial factors.
Conclusions:
- A modest association exists between SGA and schizophrenia.
- The findings suggest an independent effect of SGA on schizophrenia risk.
- Shared sibling factors do not explain the observed association.
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