How much schizophrenia do famines cause?

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Public Health

Background:

• Famines have been utilized as natural experiments to study the long-term effects of fetal nutritional shocks.
• Previous research established a strong association between fetal exposure and increased odds of developing schizophrenia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the implications of fetal origins of schizophrenia for the broader human cost of famines.
• To quantify the impact of fetal exposure to nutritional shocks on schizophrenia incidence relative to overall famine mortality.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of case studies involving historical famines.
• Comparison of schizophrenia incidence linked to fetal exposure with total famine death tolls.

Main Results:

• The impact of fetal origins of schizophrenia on the overall human cost of famines is modest.
• Schizophrenia cases attributed to fetal exposure represent less than one percent of associated famine death tolls across selected case studies.

Conclusions:

• While fetal exposure during famine is linked to schizophrenia, its contribution to the total mortality burden of famines is minimal.
• The long-term human cost of famines, in terms of schizophrenia incidence, is significantly overshadowed by direct mortality.