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Season of birth, gender and negative symptoms in schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

A. Troisi ,
A. Pasini  and
G. Spalletta
A. Troisi*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
A. Pasini
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
G. Spalletta
Affiliation:
IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
*
* Correspondence and reprints: Cattedra di Psichiatria, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, via G.A. Guattani 14, 00161 Rome, Italy. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Troisi).
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Summary

The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the symptom profile distinguishes between schizophrenic patients born in the winter and early spring and those born in other seasons. The sample consisted of 204 patients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia who had been hospitalized for acute psychotic decompensation. Symptom ratings were based on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The use of demographic and anamnestic data as dependent variables did not detect any season-of-birth effect. In contrast, clear gender-specific differences emerged from the comparison focusing on symptom dimensions and clinical subtype. Female patients born in the winter and early spring had higher scores on the PANSS negative scale and anergia factor whereas male patients born in other seasons had higher scores on the PANSS anergia factor. In addition, we found a gender-specific association between season of birth and clinical subtype. Most paranoid female patients were born in the non-winter months whereas, among men, a slightly higher percentage of paranoid patients were born in winter months. These results suggest that gender plays a role in modulating the effect of the season of birth on symptoms of schizophrenia.

Keywords

gendernegative symptomsschizophreniaseason of birth
Type
Original Article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , September 2001 , pp. 342 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved

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