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Explaining variance in the premorbid adjustment of Schizophrenia patients : the role of season of birth and family history

There is a 5--8% excess of winter-births among schizophrenia patients. This could be due to prenatal exposures to seasonally varying factors. Although winter-born and non-winter-born patients tend to differ in various aspects of the illness, associations between season of birth and premorbid adjustment (PMA) are unclear. Objectives. The main purpose of this study was to determine whether winter-born and non-winter-born schizophrenia patients differ in terms of PMA and to examine how family history may influence the association. A second objective was to determine which of the proposed underlying seasonal factor, and during which trimester of gestation, explains the most variance in PMA. Method. Data on four PMA dimensions (attention, internalising, externalising, and social) and family history were collected for 37 patients. Subject's prenatal exposure to sunshine, temperature, and influenza for each trimester of gestation was calculated. Results . Non-winter-birth and a positive family history of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders were associated with worse PMA. Prenatal exposure to both sunshine and temperatures during the first and third trimesters of gestation explained variance in particular PMA dimensions. Results suggest different mechanisms by which season of birth and family history interact in explaining distinct dimensions of PMA.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.29477
Date January 2002
CreatorsSt-Hilaire, Annie
ContributorsKing, Suzanne (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Science (Department of Psychiatry.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001941019, proquestno: MQ85827, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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