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Month of birth, hemisphere of birth and schizophrenia
J McGrath1, J Welham, M Pemberton
1Clinical Studies Unit, Wolston Park Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.
Background:
To assess quarterly fluctuations in schizophrenia births in a southern hemisphere data set, and to compare the quarterly birth distributions of patients born in the northern and southern hemisphere.
Method:
The month and place of birth of patients with schizophrenia (n = 9348) were extracted from a mental health register.
Results:
The quarterly birth distribution of patients with schizophrenia differed significantly from the estimated general population distribution in SH-born patients. The quarterly distribution of patient births differed significantly when the two hemispheres were compared.
Conclusion:
These data support the hypothesis that there is a risk for schizophrenia that is related to the time of birth, and which fluctuates across the year.