Who is at Risk of Schizophrenia?

After over a century of study of this mental ill health that we call schizophrenia we can be sure of one thing: that the causes of schizophrenia are very complex and are still not fully understood. A question frequently asked about schizophrenia is exactly who is at risk of experiencing it? Can it happen to anyone or is there a certain kind of person who is vulnerable to the condition? In his book, Surviving Schizophrenia one of the foremost authorities on schizophrenia in the US, Professor Edwin Fuller Torrey, looks closely at the various factors that put people at higher risk of developing schizophrenia at some stage during their life.

The chance of any young adult suffering from schizophrenia is about one in 100. However, that chance is skewed by a number of factors and the most significant of those factors is genetics. If you have a parent or sibling who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia then you are at much higher risk yourself. In fact, if you have a parent with schizophrenia then your own risk increases nine-fold. If you have a sibling with schizophrenia then your risk increases by a factor of about seven.

Being from a migrant background also increases the risk as does the age of your father when you were born. Children of older fathers, over forty or so at the time of birth, are particularly at risk.

Users of cannabis are also at a higher risk. Although some countries and states in the US have de-criminalised the use of cannabis the evidence of a connection between schizophrenia and the use of cannabis (particularly during adolescence) is now very strong.

People born or raised in an urban environment also have an increased risk over people who are raised in more rural communities. Certain infections also confer a higher risk particularly an infection commonly called Toxoplasmosis which is carried by domestic cats. The season that you are born is also influential to a lesser extent, with those born during winter and spring at higher risk

Other more minor risk factors include a history of brain injury, abuse during childhood and complications during pregnancy or birth.

Although written mainly for the US audience this book is an essential read for any person suffering from schizophrenia as well as for those caring for or related to sufferers. You can also learn more about this subject on the Living with Schizophrenia website at https://livingwithschizophreniauk.org/.

Contact us on email at: info@livingwithschizophreniauk.org.

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