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Schizophrenia in Women

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Women's Mental Health

Abstract

Gender differences in schizophrenia are well described in the literature since the beginning of the twentieth century. Differences are observed in the incidence, prevalence, age at onset, neurobiology, course, outcome, and treatment of the disorder. Taken together, they show that schizophrenia is usually more benign in females than in males. Treatment of women with schizophrenia should consider that they are more vulnerable to the side effects of antipsychotics, especially those that increase prolactin. Treatment should be initiated with low doses of antipsychotics, and these should be increased slowly according to therapeutic response. The use of antipsychotics in special situations, such as pregnancy and puerperium, is also discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Mario R. Louzã

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Helio Elkis

Authors
  1. Mario R. Louzã
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  2. Helio Elkis
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Joel Rennó Jr.

  2. Women’s Mental Health Clinic, Incestuous Families Treatment Clinic of Clinica’s Hospital, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Gislene Valadares

  3. Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Amaury Cantilino

  4. Brazilian Association of Psychiatry, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Jeronimo Mendes-Ribeiro

  5. Private Practice, São Lucas Medical Institute Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Renan Rocha

  6. Brazilian Association of Psychiatry (ABP), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Antonio Geraldo da Silva

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Louzã, M.R., Elkis, H. (2020). Schizophrenia in Women. In: Rennó Jr., J., Valadares, G., Cantilino, A., Mendes-Ribeiro, J., Rocha, R., Geraldo da Silva, A. (eds) Women's Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29081-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29081-8_5

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