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Meta-analysis of adult height and birth length in schizophrenia

Keely Latham1, Brian Kirkpatrick1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, United States.

Schizophrenia Research
|November 12, 2017
PubMed

Insights

People with schizophrenia do not differ in birth length from controls, but adult height may be slightly shorter. Further research is needed to confirm this finding and explore potential causes.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Schizophrenia is associated with anatomical and physiological abnormalities.
  • Previous studies suggest potential differences in birth length and adult height in individuals with schizophrenia.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and meta-analyze studies on birth length and adult height in schizophrenia.
  • To compare anthropometric measures between individuals with schizophrenia and control groups.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines.
  • Searched PsycInfo, Web of Science, and PubMed databases (1947-2016).
  • Included studies with schizophrenia patients and matched controls, measuring birth length and/or adult height.

Main Results:

  • Six studies (984 patients, 976,296 controls) found no significant difference in birth length.
  • Six studies (1,122 patients, 250,200 controls) indicated adults with schizophrenia were slightly shorter.
  • Meta-regression did not reveal significant differences based on sample type or registry status.

Conclusions:

  • No significant difference in birth length observed between individuals with schizophrenia and controls.
  • Adults with schizophrenia may be slightly shorter than comparison subjects, though the cause is unclear.
  • Lack of matching on confounding variables limits the certainty of conclusions.
Abstract

Keywords:
Birth lengthDelayed effectHeightMeta-analysisPrenatal exposureSchizophrenia

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