Summer birth and deficit schizophrenia: Cantabria, Spain

J Nerv Ment Dis. 2002 Aug;190(8):526-32. doi: 10.1097/00005053-200208000-00005.

Abstract

An association between deficit schizophrenia and summer birth has previously been reported. The authors attempted to replicate this association in a population-based study of incident cases of psychosis in the autonomous region of Cantabria, in northern Spain. Schizophrenia patients were categorized into deficit (N = 22) and nondeficit (N = 55) groups, and the pattern in the two groups was compared. After accounting for the variance due to disorganization, hallucinations and delusions, and demographic variables, deficit schizophrenia had a significant association with summer birth; this association did not depend on a single definition of summer. For instance, among the deficit patients, 59% were born from May to August, in contrast to 18% of nondeficit patients and 34% of the general population. These results confirm the association between summer birth in the Northern Hemisphere and deficit as opposed to nondeficit schizophrenia. The existence of a different risk factor for the two groups suggests a difference in etiology and pathophysiology.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cohort Studies
  • Delusions / diagnosis
  • Delusions / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Hallucinations / diagnosis
  • Hallucinations / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Risk Factors
  • Schizophrenia / diagnosis
  • Schizophrenia / epidemiology*
  • Schizophrenic Psychology*
  • Seasons*
  • Spain / epidemiology