Summary
We employed a case-control study design to investigate whether schizophrenic patients differed from non-psychotic psychiatric patients in terms of place of birth and paternal occupation. “Cases” were first-contact schizophrenic patients ascertained from the Camberwell Cumulative Psychiatric Case Register. “Controls” were the next (non-psychotic) patient on the Register matched for age and sex. In comparison with controls, cases were more likely to have: (1) been born in the deprived innercity Camberwell catchment area (odds ratio 2.3), and (2) had fathers who had “manual” as opposed to “non-manual” occupations (odds ratio 2.1). The results were compatible with the notion that socio-economic deprivation during gestation and early life predisposes to later schizophrenia.
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Castle, D.J., Scott, K., Wessely, S. et al. Does social deprivation during gestation and early life predispose to later schizophrenia?. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 28, 1–4 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00797825
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00797825