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Cited by 127Schizophrenia research and treatmentGenetic Associations and EpidemiologyEvolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

Fertility of Patients With Schizophrenia, Their Siblings, and the General Population: A Cohort Study From 1950 to 1959 in Finland

Haukka, Jari, Suvisaari, Jaana, Lönnqvist, Jouko·2003·American Journal of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.3.460
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Genetic factors are the most important risk factors for schizophrenia. However, despite the fact that patients with schizophrenia have significantly fewer offspring than the general population, schizophrenia persists. The authors investigated whether the siblings of patients with schizophrenia produce more offspring, thereby compensating for the low fertility of the affected individuals. METHOD: From all 870,093 individuals born in Finland from 1950 to 1959, the authors determined how many had schizophrenia or were siblings of schizophrenia patients and how many offspring they had. The population data were obtained from the Population Register Center of Finland, and the National Hospital Discharge Register was used to identify all persons who had been hospitalized because of schizophrenia. Appropriate regression models were used to model age at the birth of the first child, number of children, and proportion of males among offspring. RESULTS: Of the total population, 1.3% were patients with schizophrenia, and 2.8% were their siblings. The mean number of offspring among female siblings was slightly but significantly higher than among women in the general population (1.89 versus 1.83), while the opposite was true for the male siblings (1.57 versus 1.65 among men in the general population). The mean number of offspring among patients with schizophrenia was 0.83 for women and 0.44 for men. CONCLUSIONS: Lower than average fertility among patients with schizophrenia is not compensated for by higher fertility among their siblings. Thus, the persistence of schizophrenia in the general population is not explained by this simple evolutionary mechanism.

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    From Rare coding variants in ten genes confer substantial risk for schizophrenia (2022) · cites this paper as [37]

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Authors
Haukka, J., Suvisaari, J., & Lönnqvist, J.
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher
American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published
2003-03-01
Volume
160
Issue
3
Pages
460-463
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
DOI
10.1176/appi.ajp.160.3.460
OpenAlex
W2103544303
Cited by
126
References
34
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 11
FWCI
3.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • STM:n Hallinnonalan avoin julkaisuarkisto (Julkari) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Keywords
schizophrenia, fertility, siblings of patients, offspring number, age at first birth, offspring sex ratio, genetic risk factors, Finland
MeSH terms
Adult, Birth Rate, Family Characteristics, Female, Fertility, Finland, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Male, Maternal Age, Parity, Registries, Regression Analysis, Risk Factors, Schizophrenia, Sex Factors, Sex Ratio, Cohort Studies, Siblings

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