Time-to-pregnancy and risk of schizophrenia

Opler, Mark G.A.; Harlap, Susan; Ornstein, Katherine; Kleinhaus, Karine; Perrin, Mary; Gangwisch, James E.; Lichtenberg, Pesach; Draiman, Benjamin; Malaspina, Dolores

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2010.01.013

« Previous Next »Schizophrenia Research
Volume 118, Issue 1 , Pages 76-80, May 2010

Time-to-pregnancy and risk of schizophrenia

Mark G.A. Opler
- New York University School of Medicine, InSPIRES-Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, United States
- Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, United States
- Corresponding author. Dept of Psychiatry, NYU Medical Center, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States.
Susan Harlap
- New York University School of Medicine, InSPIRES-Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, United States
- New York University School of Medicine, Department of Environmental Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- New York University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, United States
Katherine Ornstein
- Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, New York, NY, United States
Karine Kleinhaus
- New York University School of Medicine, InSPIRES-Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, United States
- New York University School of Medicine, Department of Environmental Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- New York University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, United States
Mary Perrin
- New York University School of Medicine, InSPIRES-Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, United States
- New York University School of Medicine, Department of Environmental Medicine, New York, NY, United States
James E. Gangwisch
- Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, United States
Pesach Lichtenberg
- Herzog Hospital and Hadassah Medical School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Benjamin Draiman
- Herzog Hospital and Hadassah Medical School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Dolores Malaspina
- New York University School of Medicine, InSPIRES-Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, United States
- Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, United States
- New York University School of Medicine, Department of Environmental Medicine, New York, NY, United States

Received 8 September 2009; received in revised form 17 January 2010; accepted 20 January 2010. published online 15 February 2010.

Abstract

Schizophrenia has been linked to advanced paternal age, but the explanation is unknown. We questioned whether the incidence of schizophrenia would be related to male reproductive capacity, as reflected in the time taken to conceive. We measured the incidence of schizophrenia in relation to time to conception in a sub-group of 12,269 in the Jerusalem cohort whose mothers, interviewed post-partum, reported that the pregnancy had been intended. Compared with those conceived in less than 3months, the unadjusted relative risks (RR) of schizophrenia associated with conception-waits of 3–5, 6–11 and 12+ months were 1.10 (95% confidence interval, 0.62–1.94), 1.41 (0.79–2.52) and 1.88 (1.05–3.37) with p for trend=0.035. This trend was attenuated somewhat by adjusting for paternal age, and was observed more strongly in offspring of fathers aged 30+ (p=.010). These findings suggest that factors associated with fecundability, either male or female, may contribute to the risk of schizophrenia.