[Seasons of birth of schizophrenic patients. Retrospective study of a hospitalized population in Tunisia].

Epidemiological research concerning the seasons of births of schizophrenics show for the greatest part that there's an excess of births in winter and in the beginning of spring. Research about the environmental theories of schizophrenia suggest that there would exist one or many seasonal environmental factors affecting the foetus and the neonate, and which would be likely to increase the risk of a subsequent development of schizophrenia. As no research concerning this subject have been published so far in Africa, the writers propose to study the distribution of births of a population of schizophrenics born in Tunisia in comparison to the general population and to compare it to a group of patients hospitalized because of major affective disorders. The results achieved show a significant decrease in the number of schizophrenics births during the third trimester and an excess of births during the month of october, the risk being greater in the case of disorganized schizophrenia. The greater risk for people born in october to develop subsequently schizophrenia is not found in the case of major affective disorders but it is found rather in the case of schizo-affective disorders. More over, we notice a decrease in the number of births during the month of July for the patients presenting major affective disorders and for those presenting schizo-affective disorders. Results seem to demonstrate that there would exist seasonal environmental factors specific to North Africa which are likely to affect the subsequent appearance of schizophrenic disorders. A particular interest should be given to viral infectious to enteroviruses which are responsible for summer diarrhea in Tunisia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Khiari G ，Cheour M ，Ben Nasr S ，Bouzid R ，Tabbane K ，Douki S ... -  《ENCEPHALE-REVUE DE PSYCHIATRIE CLINIQUE BIOLOGIQUE ET THERAPEUTIQUE》

[Endogenous affective disorder, seasons of birth and photoperiodicity].

In a retrospective study, we compared the months of birth of 3,106 psychiatric inpatients to those of 1,943 surgical patients collected during the same period 1981-1991 in the same hospital, and of a sample of 10,003,572 births in France in 1977-1989. DSM III-R categories were modified so to allow a comparison with former studies, and psychiatric patients were distributed among seven categories: Bipolars (N = 294), Unipolars (N = 287), Neurotic-reactive depressions (N = 582), First Major Depressive episode (N = 214), Schizophrenia (N = 244), Schizo-Affectives (N = 52) and Other Diagnosies (N = 1,433). Months of birth were grouped in quarters and semesters, according to the usual calendar, but also to temperature and the photoperiodic cycle. The main results were: 1. A seasonnality of births in the General Population sample, with a spring maximum (p < 0.001). 2. An absence of deviation from the general population and the surgical sample among Neurotic-reactive Depressions and Other Diagnoses. 3. A deviation from the general population and from other comparison groups (surgical cases and Other Diagnoses) among Unipolars and First Major Depressive Episodes (most of those being late episodes), with a significant excess of births during the "dark" or "cold" season of the year, especially around the winter solstice. The Bipolar group followed the same tendency, though to a lesser degree and for subjects born before 1940 only. The most significant results were found among Unipolars, which differ from the general population either by quarters (p < 0.0005) or by semesters (p < 0.0005) and from surgical cases by quarters (p < 0.01) and by semesters (p < 0.001). The results were similar for First Major Depressive episodes, although this category was theoretically "anosological". As the median age was high in this category, it might group a number of late depressive episodes, near to "involutionnal melancholia". Thus, our results seem to be relevant to the traditional endogenous-psychogenetic dichotomy, with a "cold" or "dark" seasonnality of births in the first case, and no particular seasonnality in the second case. Some former studies showed the same results, but the most significant deviation was found in mania. Our results cannot be explained by differences in the sex-ratio among the categories, and only partially by an age-incidence effect or an age-cohort effect.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Brochard A ，Escande M ，Schmitt L ，Granier F ，Girard M ，Charlet JP ，Moron P ... -  《ENCEPHALE-REVUE DE PSYCHIATRIE CLINIQUE BIOLOGIQUE ET THERAPEUTIQUE》

[Obstetrical complications and schizophrenia. Comparative study of obstetric antecedents in schizophrenic and bipolar patients].

Information on pregnancy and birth complications was recorded for 46 patients with DSM III-R schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The biological mothers of the patients were interviewed personally to obtain obstetric information. There were no significant differences between schizophrenic and bipolar patients in age at the assessment, distribution of sex, paternal social class, age of the mother at birth, and birth order. Biological mothers of schizophrenics had more often than mothers of bipolar patients an history of miscarriage, but this trend failed to reach statistical significance. Pregnancy complications and birth weight were not significantly different between schizophrenic and bipolar patients. Birth complications were scored according to the method described by Parnas et al. (1982). Three scores were obtained for each patient: a frequency score, a severity score, and a total score. All the scores were significantly higher in the schizophrenic than in the bipolar group (frequency score p < 0.011; severity score p < 0.015; total score p < 0.01). Surprisingly, birth complications were more severe in female than in male schizophrenics (p < 0.017). The two groups of patients could not be differentiated by specific birth complication. The schizophrenic patients with a history of birth complication and those without such an history did not differ in age at onset, age at first hospitalization, family history of schizophrenic or non-affective psychotic disorder, neuroleptic resistance, and type of schizophrenia. Because of the small number of subjects in each group a type II error cannot be excluded for these negative results.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Verdoux H ，Bourgeois M 《ENCEPHALE-REVUE DE PSYCHIATRIE CLINIQUE BIOLOGIQUE ET THERAPEUTIQUE》

Prenatal and perinatal and perinatal risk factors for early onset schizophrenia, affective psychosis, and reactive psychosis.

Geddes J 《-》

Excess in the spring and deficit in the autumn in birth rates of male schizophrenic patients in Italy: potential role of perinatal risk factors.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there were different seasonal variations of births in an Italian population of patients with schizophrenia, with other psychotic disorders, and with personality disorders than in the general population. Birth dates of 1270 patients admitted to one university psychiatric unit in Rome between 1990 and 2003, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, other psychotic disorder (OPD) and personality disorder/cluster A (PD) were analyzed according to seasonal variation. A significant excess of births in spring (with a peak in May) and a deficit in autumn (with a trough in October) was found in the sample of male schizophrenics (n = 506). No statistically significant variations were found in either the sample of female schizophrenics (n = 88) or in the combined sample with OPD and PD (n = 676). The findings serve to strengthen the existing hypotheses that schizophrenia is related to environmental factors acting on the development of the central nervous system intrauterinely.

Bersani G ，Pucci D ，Gherardelli S ，Conforti F ，Bersani I ，Osborn JF ，Hansen V ，Pancheri P ... -  《-》