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The Relationship of Environmental Temperature to the Incidence and Outcome of Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sunjai Gupta*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT
Robin M. Murray
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, and Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London
*
Correspondence

Abstract

This paper presents new analyses of data from two multicentre studies carried out by the WHO. The morbid risk of developing schizophrenia, as broadly defined by the Determinants of Outcome Study, was positively related to the mean daily range of temperature. The outcome of schizophrenia, as determined by the International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia, was found to be positively related to mean environmental temperature. Further studies are needed to examine the relationship of geographical and climatic variables to schizophrenia in order to complement what is already known about the role of sociocultural factors.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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