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The Copenhagen High-Risk Project

the Diagnosis of Maternal Schizophrenia and its Relation to Offspring Diagnosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Å. Jørgensen*
Affiliation:
Psykologisk Institut, Kommunehospitalet, København
T. W. Teasdale
Affiliation:
Institut for Kilnisk Psykologi, Københavns Universitet
J. Parnas
Affiliation:
Psykologisk Institut, Kommunehospitalet, København
F. Schulsinger
Affiliation:
Psykologisk Institut, Kommunehospitalet, København
H. Schulsinger
Affiliation:
Institut for Kilnisk Psykologi, Københavns Universitet
S. A. Mednick
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Science Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
*
1399 København K, Denmark

Abstract

The Copenhagen longitudinal high-risk study of offspring of 129 schizophrenic mothers commenced in 1962. At that time, the mothers were diagnosed according to contemporary Danish criteria. We have re-examined all of the hospital records of these mothers: 108 (84%) fulfil present-day DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia and 95 (74%) were diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic according to ICD-8 criteria. In a follow-up at mean age 24, the offspring of the paranoid schizophrenic mothers were themselves found to be less frequently schizophrenic (5%) than were the offspring of non-paranoid schizophrenic mothers (29%).

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1987 

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