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Seasonality of Schizophrenic Births in Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Aileen O'Hare
Affiliation:
Medico-Social Research Board, 73 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Dermot Walsh
Affiliation:
Medico-Social Research Board, 73 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
E. Fuller Torrey
Affiliation:
St Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington, DC, USA

Summary

The seasonality of births was examined for 4,855 schizophrenic patients born in Ireland between 1921 and 1955. All general births for the same years were used as controls. Schizophrenic births were found to be significantly elevated in the second quarter of the year (P <.001). The excess was 11 per cent higher than for any European country examined to date.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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