Module 13.2: Epidemiology of Schizophrenia Flashcards
Average lifetime risk estimate for schizophrenia
+ a little under 1 percent, specifically around 0.7 percent
+ 1 out of every 140 people alive today who survive at least until 55 years old will develop the disorder
What are the factors that people who have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia may face?
+ Having a father who was 50 years or older at the time of their birth
+ Having a parent who works as a dry cleaner
+ Those who come from first- and second-generation immigrants, particularly those from black Caribbean and black African countries who live in majority white communities
Typical onset of schizophrenia
+ Vast majority begins in late adolescence and early adulthood with 18 to 30 years of age being the peak time for the onset
+ Cases in children are rare
Onset of schizophrenia in men and women
The onset differs in men and women (ratio is 1.4:1; in every 3 men who develop the disorder, only 2 women do)
Onset of schizophrenia in men
20 until 24
Severity of schizophrenia in men
Men often have a more severe form of schizophrenia than women according to brain-imaging studies
Onset of schizophrenia in women
can peak around 20 until 24 too, but not as much as men; instead, women often get diagnosed at their 40s or even early 60s
Severity of schizophrenia in women
Women have a less severe form of schizophrenia and display more symptoms of depression that may lead to them either not being diagnosed at all or be diagnosed with other disorder
Why do women have a lesser form of schizophrenia compared to men?
Estrogen may possibly play a protective role to women having a less severe form of schizophrenia (they can particularly help positive symptoms of schizophrenia decline); declining levels of estrogen at menopause might explain why late-onset of the disorder is more likely to strike women
