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Obstetric complications and age-related changes in brain morphology in schizophrenia
G N Smith1, G W MacEwan, S Altman
1Refractory Psychosis Program, Riverview Hospital, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
Insights
Birth complications may not directly alter brain structure in schizophrenia patients. However, age-related brain changes differ between those with and without birth problem histories, suggesting distinct patient subgroups.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Developmental Neuroscience
Background:
- Birth problems are linked to brain morphology changes in the general population.
- Schizophrenia patients exhibit higher rates of both birth problems and altered brain morphology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between birth problems and brain morphology in schizophrenia.
- To test if birth complications influence age-related brain changes in schizophrenia patients.
Main Methods:
- Assessed birth history and brain space sizes (ventricular and sulcal) in 80 male schizophrenia subjects.
- Compared brain morphology between patients with and without birth problem histories.
- Analyzed age-related changes in brain spaces stratified by birth complication history.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in brain space sizes were found based on birth problem history.
- Ventricular size increased with age only in patients without birth complications.
- Cortical sulcal size increased with age in both patient groups (with and without birth complications).
Conclusions:
- Region-specific rates of age-related brain size changes may differentiate clinically meaningful subgroups within schizophrenia.
- Birth complications may not directly impact overall brain morphology but could influence neurodevelopmental trajectories.
Abstract:
Birth problems can lead to changes in brain morphology in the general population and an increased prevalence of both birth problems and altered brain morphology are found in patients with schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that these two findings are related. Birth history and the size of ventricular and sulcal spaces from nine regions of the brain were assessed in 80 male subjects with schizophrenia. No differences were found between patients with and those without a history of birth problems for the size of any brain space; however, ventricular size increased significantly with age in patients who had no birth complications but not in patients with a history of birth problems. The size of cortical sulci increased with age in patients with and those without a history of birth problems. These results suggest that region-specific rates of change in size may identify clinically meaningful patients subgroups.