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Winter-born v summer-born schizophrenics.

R E Kendell¹, I W Kemp

¹Edinburgh University Department of Psychiatry.

The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science

|October 1, 1987

Summary

This study found no convincing differences between winter- and summer-born individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or affective disorders. Birth season does not appear to influence schizophrenia onset, sex ratio, or prognosis.

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Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Epidemiology
Seasonal Birth Effects

Background:

Seasonal variations in birth month have been observed in psychiatric disorders.
Previous research suggests a potential link between winter birth and increased risk for schizophrenia.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if birth season influences the characteristics and outcomes of schizophrenia and affective psychoses.
To compare winter-born and summer-born patients using large population-based datasets.

Main Methods:

Utilized data from the Edinburgh Psychiatric Case Register and Scottish Health Service inpatient records.
Compared birth months of first-admission schizophrenics and affective psychoses patients with the general population.
Analyzed differences in diagnosis, age of onset, sex ratio, and prognosis between winter- and summer-born groups.

Main Results:

A 9% excess of schizophrenic births and a 3% excess of affective births occurred in the first trimester of the year.
In Edinburgh data, winter-born schizophrenics showed diagnostic differences, but these were not replicated in the larger Scottish dataset.
No significant differences were found in age of onset, sex ratio, prognosis, or between winter- and summer-born affective disorder patients.

Conclusions:

The study failed to demonstrate convincing differences between winter- and summer-born schizophrenics regarding key clinical features.
Birth season does not appear to be a significant factor in the prognosis or presentation of schizophrenia or affective psychoses in this population.
Further research may be needed to explore subtle seasonal influences or confounding factors.

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