Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 May;107(5):331-5.
doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00052.x.

Prenatal exposure to influenza as a risk factor for adult schizophrenia

F Limosin  1 , F Rouillon, C Payan, J-M Cohen, N Strub
Affiliations

Prenatal exposure to influenza as a risk factor for adult schizophrenia

F Limosin et al. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2003 May.

Abstract

Objective: Several, but not all epidemiological studies, have demonstrated a positive correlation between exposure to the virus during the second trimester of pregnancy and an increased risk to the infants for subsequently developing schizophrenia. The present study is the first be designed in France to examine the risk of gestational exposure to the influenza virus and subsequent development of schizophrenia.

Method: A total of 974 adults with schizophrenia born between 1949 and 1981 were compared for risk of exposure to influenza with their non-schizophrenic siblings and with matched control patients.

Results: Significantly more schizophrenic subjects than controls (both groups) had been exposed to the influenza virus during the fifth month of pregnancy (OR=2.24, CI: 1.49-3.35, and OR=1.61, CI: 1.04-2.49).

Conclusion: These results suggest that influenza infection during pregnancy is a neurodevelopmental risk factor for schizophrenia in adult life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources