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Schizophrenia after Prenatal Exposure to 1957 A2 Influenza Epidemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Stephen J. Cooper
Stephen J. Cooper*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL
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Abstract

“The birth dates of schizophrenic inpatients in eight health regions in England and Wales were reviewed for any effect of the 1957 A2 influenza epidemic. 5 months after the peak infection prevalence, the number of births of individuals who later developed schizophrenia was 88% higher than the average number of such births in the corresponding periods of the 2 previous and the next 2 years. This finding is in accordance with a study from Helsinki and with clinical and neuropathological evidence of aberrant fetal brain development in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.”

Type
The Current Literature
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 161 , Issue 3 , September 1992 , pp. 394 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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