Reproductive rates in schizophrenic outpatients

Abstract

We investigated the marriage rates, the reproductive rates and the marital reproductivity of schizophrenic outpatients in Japan. A total of 553 patients with DSM-III-R-diagnosed schizophrenia at the Teikyo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan were compared with age- and sex-matched outpatients at surgical clinics of the same hospital. Our findings indicate that the reproductivity of schizophrenics is reduced, even though the sample consists of outpatient population and modern operational diagnostic criteria have been used. The marriage rate and reproductive rate of the schizophrenics were reduced, especially in men. The number of married men was significantly less than that of married women and the reduced marital reproductivity was found in women but not men. These findings indicate that the reduced reproductivity of men in accounted for largely by a reduced rate of marriage, and that in women is accounted for partly by lower rate of reproductivity within marriage.