Stress in womb linked to the later development of schizophrenia
Thursday, 21 Aug 2008 08:42
Researchers say it is possible that children may develop schizophrenia if their mother experience extreme stress while they were in the womb
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Researchers say it is more likely that children whose mothers experience extreme stress while they are in the womb may develop schizophrenia in later life.
A report published today in the journal BMC Psychiatry supports a growing body of literature that indicates that unborn babies exposed to severe stress face a greater chance of developing the mental illness.
According to Dolores Malaspina from New York University (NYU) School of Medicine and lead author of the study the stresses in question are those that would be experienced in a natural disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane, a terrorist attack, or a sudden bereavement.
Data from 88,829 people, born in Jerusalem from 1964 to 1976, were collected from the Jerusalem Perinatal Study that linked birth records to Israel's Psychiatric Registry.
The NYU authors claim the children of women who were in their second month of pregnancy during the height of the Arab-Israeli war in June of 1967 (the "Six Day War") displayed a significantly higher incidence of schizophrenia over the following 21-33 years.
The study also showed the pattern was gender-specific, affecting females more than males.
It says they were 4.3 times more likely to develop schizophrenia than females born at other times.
Males, meanwhile, were 1.2 times more likely to develop schizophrenia.
Ms Malaspina added: "The placenta is very sensitive to stress hormones in the mother. These hormones were probably amplified during the time of the war."
The authors point out that the study, which assessed ongoing medical records, only supports, rather than proves, the hypothesis that the greatest vulnerability to schizophrenia is in the second month of pregnancy.
Limitations to the study include a small sample population as well as the absence of information on the exact length of gestation, which makes it possible that developmental stages were underestimated.
Ms Malaspina also pointed out that pregnant women in general should not be alarmed about handling daily stressors during pregnancy.
She said: "A developing foetus requires some exposure to maternal stress hormones as it normalizes their stress functioning. But women experiencing anxiety or excessive stress would do well to address it before a planned pregnancy and to have good social support systems."